Benefits
by Ilovedesserts
Summary: **Slight spoiler topics from Episode 5.11. No one wants to think of an uncertain future, but can you at least try to prepare for it? Just an idea I had in my head...not sure if it will go anywhere. Disclaimer-These characters are not my own. I just enjoy them!
1. Chapter 1

She was trying to process the conversation. He was right; yet, she didn't want to think of the details of his statement. _"Sharon, with everything that has happened, it has me thinking more and more about the two of us. I am more than fine with things the way they are. I love you, and I love the life we are creating together. Don't you think we should discuss marriage again, though? I couldn't stand the thought of something happening to me, and you not being taken care of or getting what you deserve. I know you can take care of yourself, but I want to know that you are set forever. I want to know that you'll never have to worry about anything again. I want to know that my job, our job, is taking care of you after I'm gone. I couldn't stand the idea of all of my benefits disappearing simply because, legally, in the eyes of the law, we aren't bound together."_

Andy had brought up the topic of marriage again, now a week after the shootings. The shootings-the death of Taylor. They were all still processing that. Taylor's wife and kids were being taken care of, at least. The department made sure of that. That's what got Andy thinking-and thinking made him sick to his stomach. He never wanted anything to happen to him and Sharon not receive the spouse benefits she should. It seemed like a silly idea for marriage, but that was just it. Neither was against the idea at all, but they had just gotten comfortable. Things were good. They were good. Now, this put things into perspective again. Things could go from good to awful in a matter of a second. It had for Taylor. Andy didn't want that for Sharon; he didn't want that for them. He looked over to Sharon waiting for her to process and respond.


	2. Chapter 2

Andy sat up suddenly in bed, awaking from a deep sleep. He knew he had slept hard. He was finding his memory a bit hazy, and he felt almost slightly disoriented. He rubbed his hand over his face, and then it hit him-where he was, what was going on-it wasn't a dream. He hadn't been dreaming about having that conversation with Sharon; he had actually had it. Further proof he'd had the conversation came when his hand rubbed his eyes. He felt the unfamiliar band rub his eye, a band that hadn't been there, well, for over 20 years. He smiled and glanced over at Sharon, also still in a deep sleep. He leaned back onto his pillow to hopefully recount the rest of his dream, well, actually, the rest of that great memory. Shortly after closing his eyes, he found himself back in his head, dreaming, no reliving that moment again.

" _Don't you think we should discuss marriage again, though? "_ He brought himself back to that big question. The question he had wanted to ask her for quite awhile. This question right now wasn't a proposal; it was still the discussion. Like everything, he and Sharon talked things through. They always had, and he believed they always would. Discussing things is really how they started to become friends. Sharon's walls came down as she found herself able to talk to Andy about anything and everything. Something as important as getting married would not be sprung upon her. Yes, he'd have to figure out a more romantic way to propose IF that was where they were headed, but both believed they always needed to discuss their future together.

"Fine."

That word again. Sharon has started using it in more of a joking way since she first agreed to go to Serve with Andy. That first date, well, real date in their eyes-when Andy had asked her to dinner-she was nervous and "fine" slipped out. Of course she wanted to go to dinner. What she had really wanted to scream was, "Of course! You're my best friend! You give me chills just thinking of you. Yes, I want to date you!" However, she'd been so nervous. "Fine" was the only thing she could muster. Since then, it had been their standing joke. "Fine" really meant more to both of them, but to everyone else, "Fine" sounded, well, dull.

Andy laughed with Sharon's "Fine." Of course, he should have known she would answer with "Fine." That stopped him in his tracks though; Sharon was actually agreeing they really needed to talk about this. Marriage was serious, and after everything else they had both been through, marriage was forever; it was "Till Death Do Us Part" as they had also joked at one point during a case. Here it was; the moment finally to have the discussion.

"Sharon, what do you want? I just laid out my thoughts on the matter. My feelings-well, I hope you know that I love you more than anything. My feelings aren't the problem at all. This discussion isn't just about feelings; it needs to be about what you want. I want you forever. I want to be married to you. I want the whole world to know that, but what do you want? It's okay if you don't want that. It's okay if you want to keep things as they are. You are my best friend. I cannot imagine the world without you. I cannot imagine the rest of our lives without each other. That's not the problem. I won't go anywhere, either way, but I really want to know what you want. You have spent your entire life making sure everyone in your life has what they want. You've been a wife before, and most of that marriage was not as you wanted it. You've raised three kids now, and you've made sure they have what they want from life. What do you, my loving Sharon, want?"

Andy remembered looking at Sharon, and he didn't see any sort of conflict in her eyes. In fact, they were glistening. They looked alive and happy. He waited while she composed herself and her answer.


	3. Chapter 3

"Andy, I don't think," Sharon started to say. She stopped as she saw Andy grimace and close his eyes. He didn't say anything, but she could tell he was bracing for the worst.

"Andy, please look at me," Sharon pleaded. Andy opened his eyes and saw Sharon reaching out for his hand. She took his hands in hers.

"I'm sorry, Sharon. You're right. Go ahead," Andy told her.

"Well, what I had started to say was I don't think this conversation is going to be that difficult for me at all. What I want is easy; I want to be married to you too," Sharon said with a huge smile, eyes glistening.

"Rea, really?" Andy looked a bit surprised.

"Of course! As you pointed out, you are my best friend too. I, too, cannot imagine a world without you now. I cannot imagine the rest of our lives without each other. I have been working really hard to put my past behind me, as I know you have too. I work really hard each day to make sure our relationship is ours-not that belonging to our ex's. Yes, there was a time the thought of another marriage scared me to death. I probably would have then said I'd never get married, but here we are. I probably never would have said we would be a "we," and we are pretty great together. Our kids seem to think so, and while we keep it out of the office, I think even the team thinks so. I know so. You're right, though, that the shooting put a lot of things into perspective for me, just as your accident last year did too. Last year, I know I was dragging my feet on admitting my true feelings, that I loved you so very much. I swore I wouldn't do that kind of dragging again, and I think I have."

"Sharon," Andy interrupted, "We both were dragging our feet last year, and yes, we said we wouldn't do that anymore. That's why I said something about moving into together and selling my house. We had agreed to point out to the other if we felt either was dragging our feet on a decision. We agreed to point it out, but not push to a decision. I know I pointed that out to you, but I also know that after that, I left you to make your decision. I wanted to point out again, that we'd discussed this before, but with the shooting, the idea of benefits came into my head, and I realized that I, at least, felt like I was dragging my feet on a conversation we had started before but never really finished. So, please don't feel like I'm pushing you to a decision."

"Andy, when have I ever felt pushed into any decision?" Sharon teased. She gripped his hands tighter and shook them. "I love you. I do want to marry you, well, that is, if you ever decide ask," Sharon teased again. "Let me remind you that I am aware it took you a very long time to finally ask me out, Lieutenant."

"Well, I had to be very careful. I was afraid to get stuck with another harassment complaint for asking out a superior officer. My boss would have hated all of that paperwork, "Andy smiled as he teased right back.

Laughing, Sharon, continued, "But, Andy, you are right. The shooting did make me realize we were stalling too. I agree with you, that legally, I wanted to be married to you. I want the same for you, as I think about it. I would want all of my benefits and such to go to you. Knowing you, you wouldn't even want them, but I would want to know that you would pass it along to the kids for whatever they need because that is the man you are. On that note, I want you to see something," Sharon said as she pulled her hands away and stood up.

"What's that, Sharon?" Andy asked.

Andy watched as Sharon went over to her purse. She dug around in it and pulled out her cell phone. He was curious as to what would be on her cell phone.

Sharon joined him back at the table, this time, moving her chair so that it was touching Andy's chair. She squeezed in to sit right next to him and pulled up her text messages on her phone.

"Well, you aren't the only one who has been thinking about things. That's why I had no hesitation with my answer. I've been thinking about it for awhile. Take a look at this message I sent to a friend of mine. She's a judge up north on the coast. We met years ago when our kids were younger. Back then, she was still a lawyer, who surprisingly, found she liked me when she hated Jack. Turns out they had worked in the same firm for awhile before he took off, leaving cases and such a mess for her. We met because Ricky and her daughter were in the same classes in middle school, and then she moved north shortly later after becoming a judge."

Andy was sitting there, listening, trying to figure out where this conversation was going. Why was Sharon telling him about another judge friend of hers now? At least it wasn't another text message from Judge Grove. Andy really liked the guy, and he knew Judge Grove liked Sharon, but that was the problem. Andy had a suspicion Judge Grove really liked Sharon and would like nothing more than to date her himself. He'd just been too late to that game, so Andy was glad the judge, while a friend of both of theirs, was not the judge on whatever conversation Sharon was about to show him.

Andy took a look at the phone that Sharon was holding out to him to read the messages she had pulled up.

Sharon-"Nancy, hi! I hope life is going well. It's been too long since we caught up. Quick question though for you. Say someone wanted you to marry them. Besides the obvious-license, etc., need anything else?"

Andy raised his brow at Sharon, and she just shrugged her shoulders. "It pays to be prepared," Sharon said simply."

Andy grunted, "Yeah, you're a real Girl Scout."

Andy kept reading the message.

Nancy-"What? It hasn't been that long since we talked! Who would this "someone" be? Might I know her and her kids? I really hope this "someone" is a well deserving police captain, and if that's the case, it's been WAY, WAY too long since we caught up."

Sharon-"Well, you're aware I dismissed Jack a couple years ago, and I've told you about Andy. So, yes, "someone" would like to know what a judge might need to handle a marriage?"

Nancy-"Date and time. For you, that's it. I'll provide the rest, even a location if you want."

Andy smiled, "You really already checked into this? I'm almost speechless. In all the ways I saw this conversation playing out, THIS was not on my radar at all."

Sharon laughed, "Well, I do like to keep you on your toes, Lieutenant. Aren't you always teasing me about my mind being way ahead of things while we are in the middle of a case? Well, I guess consider this mystery almost solved."

"Well, someone has to be the brains of this operation," Andy teased as he grabbed ahold of Sharon's hands again, taking them in his.

Andy looked back at the message. "Sharon, this text was send three days ago. You really were thinking about this?"

"Of course! I was just hoping that I wouldn't have to get Lt. Provenza to help clue you in," Sharon said smiling. "So, what do you think?"

"Well, I like how your judge friend thinks-date and time. That's about all I need-oh, and you," Andy said as he placed a kiss to the side of Sharon's head. "Of course, there's the fact that we aren't actually engaged. I haven't asked. I'm a little worried about what my immediate supervisor will say."

Sharon chuckled, "Yes, I can only imagine the conversation with Lt. Provenza. I am guessing words such as idiot might come into play."

"Well, as much as he wouldn't admit it your face, yes, he'd call me an idiot, but not for what you think. He used to say I was an idiot, for trying to lure you in-as he called it-and date you. We've won him over, and now, he'd say I was an idiot to NOT marry you. Patrice has really softened him too, so the old guy will probably grumble and complain for a bit, but never really upset about it. He'll want to give the illusion he's upset," Andy said.

"Okay, joking aside, my turn-Andy, what do you really want now?" Sharon asked.

"I already said it-date and time. I'm there, but I will need to find a fiancé first. I like that you are a modern woman, sweetheart, but there are some things that I believe a man needs to do. Getting a fiancé is one of them. I just wanted to know if I was barking up the right tree."

"Barking up a tree-do you see me as a dog?" Sharon asked as she pulled her hands away and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Nope, not at all," Andy quickly answered. "That's the last thing I will say about it before I find myself in the doghouse."

"Maybe you would be better to stop making dog references," Sharon commented.

"Well, all I'm going to say now is that you won't see it coming," Andy said.

"Really?" Sharon said as she crossed her arms even tighter. "I guess I'm up to the challenge, lieutenant, but like you, I'm a very good detective."

"Game on," Andy said and stood up to get something to drink. "Game on."


	4. Chapter 4

Sharon sighed, wearily, as she looked at herself in the mirror. She was tired, and the last thing she wanted to do right now, in the middle of the night, was go back to work. She glanced over to her jeans and casual shirt, the clothes she had laid out for herself last night and thought she would be wearing today. Today, the team was supposed to have had a day off. They'd worked straight through the last weekend, so they were being given Friday and the weekend off, or so they had been told. Instead, here it was 3:30 AM, Friday morning, and she was looking at her tired reflection in the mirror, getting ready for work. As tired as she was from this past week of work, she knew Andy had to feel even worse. He'd left an hour ago for the crime scene. She was going to meet everyone at the office, so she'd gotten a little more rest, not really sleep, than Andy. With a sigh again, she checked her appearance once more before turning off the light and heading out for another day at work. She'd seen Andy put on his purple tie this morning, so she'd decided to wear one of her very favorite purple dresses and jacket today. If she had to work on what was to have been her day off, at least she'd wear something she really liked and match Andy at the same time.

As Sharon drove through the mostly empty streets of the early morning, she thought back over the past couple of weeks. Work had been crazy. She and Andy had managed to get out of the house for dinner one night, a movie one weekend afternoon last week-or was it two weeks ago? and even to walk on the beach finally after settling the last case. Sharon was starting to get impatient. She and Andy had had that big talk about their future almost three weeks ago, and yet, it didn't seem like anything was happening. Sharon wasn't kidding herself when she said she was a good detective; she also knew Andy wasn't either. However, she figured with her "women's intuition" and her detective skills, she would have been able to spot a proposal coming a mile away. She thought it might have happened at their nice dinner a few nights ago. They went out near the beach to a favorite restaurant, and while she didn't expect it at the restaurant, she thought it might have happened after. Nothing. They walked on the beach when they closed the case, and again that seemed like perfect timing. Nothing. This whole waiting game was really starting to irritate her, only because they had spoken about it, and she didn't like surprises. Yes, she was definitely one for a sense of occasion, and she felt like there had been a couple of great opportunities to display her sense of occasion with dinner and the beach all to have nothing happen.

Sharon's mind continued to wander, and then she started thinking that maybe he didn't even have a ring yet. Come to think of it, that must be it. When would he have gotten one? He'd been at work with her almost all the time the past few weeks, and buying a ring wasn't something she thought Andy would take lightly. She started laughing when she thought back several years ago to the case with Provenza's ex-wife, Liz. Provenza and Andy had gotten themselves in hot water with that one and the engagement ring the former Mrs. Provenza had sold. She still laughed about the dog, Frank, and remembered having to walk the dog with Andy and Liz to get the "evidence." Never in a million years would she have thought that Andy would someday be buying a diamond ring for her. Yet, here they were. Yes, when would he have had time to shop? Sharon started to feel badly at that thought. Poor Andy. He's probably been antsy about finding the time to ring shop, and work has been crazy. Sharon decided then and there to try and put their pending engagement thoughts to rest for awhile. They had a new case. Thoughts of their leisurely three-day weekend were now gone. In fact, Sharon decided, that must be it. Andy would have had time over their weekend off to ring shop, and was probably as annoyed as anyone. Sharon decided then and there she was glad to not be at the crime scene with everyone right now. She figured Provenza was getting an earful from Andy about his annoyance with the situation. Honestly, those two. The murder room might prove to be tense later in the day, Sharon thought on, as she was sure no one in the squad would be happy to be working on their day off.

Now that Sharon was really thinking about it, she was sure she would notice when Andy did buy the ring, confirming to her that he hadn't yet. They were in the early stages of combining all of their bank accounts and credit cards. They both wanted that, especially if they were going to be married. Both were used to doing the bills, so they had been doing them together. Money wasn't a secret; both knew what the other brought to their relationship, and they were going to be very comfortable. As Sharon thought more, she smiled, thinking again, she was going to outsmart Andy. He'd have to put a ring purchase on a credit card or get money from their checking account. No large purchase like that had gone out recently, and she knew now that she had him. That would definitely set the timeline, so she was now going to calm herself down knowing that at least she'd have warning when that happened.

As Sharon pulled into her parking spot at work and secured her car, she sighed again. She and Andy were so looking forward to relaxing this weekend. It was such a shame a new case was now taking their weekend away from them. Rusty was even going to be out of the house. He was playing in some chess tournament in San Diego, and Gus was so excited to go and watch Rusty. Sharon laughed, thinking Gus must really care about Rusty, if he was willing to tag along and watch a chess tournament. It seemed to go both ways though because the two had plans to stop at a very nice, new restaurant on the way home where they had reservations to check out the cuisine. Gus' manager had asked him to check it out as a possibility to some new menu items. Rusty and Gus weren't exactly on the same page as far as cuisine. Rusty would have been happy stopping at a run-down burger joint, and yet, Gus was dragging him-because Rusty wouldn't normally to a restaurant without meat-to a vegan place. Rusty had even joked that perhaps Andy would be a better dinner date for Rusty since he preferred vegetarian cuisine, but nonetheless, Rusty and Gus were going to be gone most of the weekend, and now Sharon and Andy had to work. Sharon didn't know the next time they would have an actual day off. She might have to negotiate one with Chief Howard after this latest case. As she got onto the elevator, she decided to put all thoughts of "the weekend that could have been" out of her head and instead focus on this new case.

Sharon glanced at her watch when she entered the murder room and saw it was just after 4:00 AM. The last update from Andy had been at 3:15, and he said that he didn't expect Kendall to finish until almost 4:00 AM. Sharon decided she would secure her things in her office and go in search of coffee for the team. She would have stopped on the way in, but her favorite coffee shop didn't open until 4:30 AM. Instead, she could walk half a block up to one near the office and get coffee and pastries there. It wasn't the favorite coffee shop, but it was a close second, and on a day like today, she knew she would have to bribe everyone with coffee and pastries to keep people in a somewhat pleasant mood.

When Sharon entered her office and switched on her light, she was startled and almost drew her weapon. Andy was standing there, well, really leaning against her desk, looking very handsome in his purple shirt and tie. Before she could ask him what in the world he was doing there, sitting in the dark, while he was supposed to be at a crime scene, she saw the huge bouquet of flowers sitting on her table. They were so many of her favorites, lilies especially, in a beautiful arrangement. Looking at it, it would have cost him a small fortune.

"Andy, what, what are you doing here? Why aren't you at the crime scene? What is going on?" Sharon was so startled that she just started rattling off questions.

Andy looked at her with a very serious expression on his face. Sharon had a fear that something had happened at the crime scene, but what was up with the flowers?

"Sharon, game on. I win," said Andy in a very flat, monotone voice, but with a slight smirk on his face.

"What?" Sharon asked.

"Sharon Raydor, I love you more than life itself. You are the love of my life, and I am so glad that first and foremost, you are my best friend. I look forward to each day with you, and I am asking if you will spend every day for the rest of our lives together. So, Sharon, because I'm old and my knees would kill me for weeks if I got down on this tile floor, I'm standing here asking if you, Sharon Raydor, would marry me?"

Sharon was stunned. She heard everything Andy said and now saw a beautiful, elegant princess cut solitaire diamond Andy had for her. It was beautiful and perfect. Simple, elegant, classy.

"Game on. I win?" Sharon replied.

"Yup, I told you that you wouldn't see it coming. Now, are you going to answer me, or are you going to make me stand here like an idiot and wait?" Andy asked.

"Andy, what is going on? Why aren't you at the crime scene?" Sharon asked.

Andy started chuckling and said, "Sharon, there is no crime scene. The rest of the team is home in bed. I wanted this to be a complete surprise. We don't have to work today. I needed you off your game, not suspecting anything. I figured the only way to do that was to get you thinking about work and well, the fact that you thought you'd now be working the weekend instead of enjoying it with me. I also knew I had to do this when no one else was around because I wanted it to be private, as I know you did too. So, that either left really late at night or dragging you in early in the morning. Now, I have my reasons for doing it this early in the morning, but first, before I reveal my secret, I am still waiting on an answer. This time, that answer is not allowed to be "Fine." Now, I'm fully aware we stood just a few feet from here almost two years ago when I first asked you out, and your answer then was "Fine." It's not allowed this time. So, Sharon, do you have an answer, or are you going to make me wait even longer?"

Sharon thought for a moment and then smiled as she said, "Of course, not lieutenant. I'm a married woman. Or, um, I hope to be soon."

Andy laughed as he reached out to pull Sharon in. "You've got to be kidding me. You still remember that conversation from Nicole's wedding? I asked you if it was a date, and that's how you answered. Really? You had to throw that back at me now?" Andy said.

"Well," Sharon said as she smiled at Andy, "Your friend Sharon has enjoyed going on dates with you "several times a month" for years. All of that started right here in my office, so yes, that's how I'm going to answer you. That is, if the offer still stands to become a married woman?"

Andy laughed. "I suppose I have some of that coming, all corny jokes aside. I really do love you, Sharon. I love that we can joke around in something so important as this. I really hope you like your ring. I've had it forever; I just wasn't sure I would ever be able to give it to you. I bought it after my surgery, in fact, after my last doctor's appointment when I was cleared to return to duty. I knew I loved you and hoped we someday get to this point."

"Andy, the ring is beautiful. I can't believe you have had it that long," Sharon said as Andy took her hand in his and slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her hand. It fit perfectly. "So, detective, want to clue me in on how you got one over on the boss? I could kill Provenza for calling you this morning to get all of this in motion!"

"Oh, don't be mad at Provenza. He had nothing to do with it, and in fact, he knows nothing about this. None of the team does. I'm just glad you didn't call down to check with Morales before entering your office. I was a little worried you would go straight to the morgue, so that's why I sent you that text that Kendall wouldn't finish until 4:00. I was hopeful that would buy some time to get you into your office. I had my sponsor call me. I figured he was used to being up at all hours of the night, listening to guys' problems. He was happy to do it. He said after listening to years of stories about "my friend Sharon" he was hopeful that now he'd get restful nights of sleep where I won't be calling him anymore expressing my feelings for you."

Sharon laughed at that. "I can't believe you set this all up-here-the office, and at 4:00 in the morning! If I wasn't absolutely thrilled, I'd ring your neck for getting me up so early."

Andy laughed, "Well, as I told you. I'm a very good detective. I knew you would be trying to figure out the moment. I've enjoyed watching you squirm the last few times we have been out. I also figured that at some point you would start digging through the bank statements looking for charges on the card."

"Oh my goodness, you do know me too well, Andy," Sharon laughed. I had all of those thoughts on my way to work today as I was sure this latest case, which is now I find out, a hoax, was going to mess up our weekend plans."

"Sharon, this is part of our weekend plans" Andy said as he pulled Sharon in for a kiss. Just before he kissed her, he whispered to her, "I said, "Game on." I didn't say "Game over."


	5. Chapter 5

"So, this is still a game to you?" Sharon asked as she interlaced her fingers with Andy's. "You caught me off guard, I admit, but okay, that's over now. Can we go home, please? It's still only 4:30 in the morning."

"Sweetheart, your weekend has just begun. I have big plans for us, and part of this early morning engagement is to give us full use of the day, that is, if you are interested?" Andy asked.

"I am intrigued. What did you have planned?" Sharon asked.

"Well, I may have chatted with a favorite judge of yours, and she may have cleared her schedule say from 4:00 on this afternoon if you just happen to want to see her," Andy replied with a sheepish look to his face.

Sharon's jaw dropped open, "Andy are you serious? You spoke to Nancy?" Sharon asked.

"Yes, well, umm, I didn't exactly speak to her. I got her number off of your phone, and I've texted with her some. So, this is part of my surprise, if you want. Sharon, I don't care when or how we get married. I just want to be married to you. I've given this some thought, and I know you are all about a sense of occasion, but I also know you like your privacy. I want this for us, but more importantly, I want what you want. I feel we have to share every aspect of our lives with everyone else-our kids, the team-and well, they all may be mad, but so let them be mad. I was kind of thinking this was romantic and so unlike anything that would be expected from us. Everyone else will get over it if they are mad. I want you happy, whatever makes you happy. Nancy said she didn't want you to feel pressured either way, so if you aren't interested in this at all, then we don't have to drive up there. We can go home and plan the wedding of your dreams, big or small, with the kids, grandkids, team, anyone. However, if you want, we can drive up the coast, you can see the other surprises I have in store for you, and Nancy, a friend of yours, will be glad to marry us today."

"Andy, I must say, you have completely surprised me!" Sharon said. "I truly didn't see ANY of this coming today. I was thinking our relaxing weekend might include going out to eat, the beach, or a movie, but I never saw this coming!"

"Well, Sharon, think about it. Let's get some breakfast first, and we can talk more," Andy said as he started to pull Sharon toward her office door.

"Andy, the flowers-they are beautiful, but"

"But nothing, Sharon. Leave them there. The maintenance staff will water them over the weekend, and you can still enjoy them on Monday, no matter what," Andy said.

"Fine," Sharon said, as Andy raised his eyebrows at her.

"Fine, there's that word again. At least you are agreeing with me about the flowers," Andy said.

"No, Andy, fine, as in yes, I don't need to think about it anymore. I want to marry you today, too. I want to drive up the coast and have Nancy marry us. To be honest, when I first asked her about it, I thought she would come here to marry us someday, but I want nothing more than to marry you today. You're right. The kids might be mad, but when haven't we been mad at things our kids have done? We can do something as a family when we get back, and they all are here together. The same with the team. We don't need to make this a huge deal at work; we've always been professional there, and they will just have to understand. So, yes, let's get married today!"

"Sharon, are you sure? I don't want to pressure you," Andy said.

"More than sure. However, you do need to feed me first. I got called into work very early this morning," Sharon smiled as she grabbed her purse and interlocked her arm with Andy's. The two made their way out of her office.

"Well, Mrs. Flynn, care to make a little bet?" Andy teased.

"What did you have in mind?" Sharon asked.

"I was thinking we should bet something about the team finding out. Now, I'm all up for another little game to see how long we can go unnoticed by our colleagues, but I didn't know how you would feel about it," Andy's smile lifted to a smirk.

Laughing, Sharon said, "Ohh, this could be fun. You know they've made a ton of money off of us, so maybe it's our turn to cash in. However, it's not as fun when the money is coming from our same bank account. Did you have another idea instead of cash like team always uses?"

"Oh yeah-but before I tell you, you have to agree to the bet," Andy said.

"Ughh, Andy, that's not fair," Sharon whined, as they reached the elevator and waited for it to arrive.

"Sharon, you either trust me or you don't," Andy teased.

"Okay, fine. I agree. What's the wager?" Sharon asked.

"Loser has to tell his or her kids first," Andy smiled.

Sharon, with a shocked look on her face, remains speechless for a few seconds, putting her thoughts together.

"On one condition," Sharon flatly said as she turned around and put her arms around Andy's waist.

"I didn't agree to any conditions, Sharon," Andy said.

"Andy, you either trust me or you don't," Sharon said, "Your words, not mine."

Chuckling, Andy said, "Okay, you got me. What's your latest deal? I should have known this little bet would turn into a deal."

"I will take your "loser tells his or her kids first" BUT….BUT Rusty goes to the loser. There are five kids in total. He lives with us, and you are the only father he has ever known. So, in my opinion, he's just as much yours as mine," Sharon said with a smirk.

"Not a problem. I won't lose, so I won't have to worry about telling Rusty," Andy said. "I'm more interested in who notices first and how long it takes that person to notice. I promise I won't say a word. My bet is on Tao by Wednesday morning. I almost said Provenza, but I think I can throw him off enough. The bet included we wouldn't say anything, but it didn't include that we couldn't purposely mislead people."

"Ohhh, we are on. I'm definitely taking Provenza by Monday at lunch. He's still your best friend, but he knows you like a book," Sharon said.

"It's on, Sharon. Loser tells his or her kids first including Rusty," Andy smirked as the two got onto the elevator.

After breakfast, Sharon and Andy settled into Andy's car for their drive up the coast. Andy still had a lot of things planned for their special day, and he didn't want to let Sharon in on all the secrets, yet.

"Andy, you said you had other things planned. What exactly?" Sharon asked. "I'm starting to freak out a bit, I must admit. It's not about marrying you, but what were we thinking? I don't have a dress, flowers, rings-Andy we don't have rings! I don't have makeup, other clothes. Andy, we need to go back to the house," Sharon quickly said.

"Sharon, calm down. I'm only going to tell you not to worry. I have been planning this for a long time. None of these plans were things that couldn't be cancelled or changed, so just trust me on that. Nancy recommended a local jeweler, a friend of hers. We have an appointment there at 10 this morning when he opens. The store is ours for shopping. We can both pick out our rings together," Andy smiled as he took Sharon's hand in his. "I love the way this ring looks on you, and I love how it feels in my hand."

"Andy, I can't stop looking at it! It's beautiful, and you knew exactly what I would want. I'm impressed with your connections. I can't wait to pick out rings with you," Sharon smiled.

The two spent the next three hours talking as they drove. They were both so excited about their day and their lives. They joked about what their kids would say, what their colleagues would say, but ultimately they didn't care. This was special to them. It was a day they would never forget. With Rusty out of town, no one would expect to see or hear from them all weekend. They already knew Rusty was away at his chess tournament. Ricky had called Sharon a couple days ago and said he had a massive project due by Monday morning. She knew she would not hear from him. Nicole was on a business trip, and Andy had learned that Dean and the boys were joining her on her trip for a little vacation. Andy only spoke to his son a couple times a month, and they had just talked earlier in the week, so Andy knew he wouldn't be looking for them. The only questionable one was Emily. Sharon thought that it would be hard to keep from Emily, but Andy told her that he had texted Emily last night to tell her that they finally had a weekend off, and he was hoping to surprise Sharon with a trip out of town.

"Andy, you told Emily you were taking me on a trip?" Sharon asked.

"Well, I figured if I told her I was hoping to surprise you that 1-she wouldn't ask you about it, and 2-she wouldn't call to check on you until after the weekend. I said I was hoping to surprise you so that if something didn't' work out or you didn't want to have Nancy marry us right away, I could tell her the surprise didn't work out because of work," Andy replied.

"Lieutenant, I think you have been hiding some of your undercover skills from your boss," Sharon smiled as she pulled out her phone. "Is there anyone else you told about our trip?"

"Nope, if Provenza calls, I'm not answering. Plus, he said something about Patrice's family visiting, so I'm sure he'll be busy this weekend."

As the drive continued, Andy noticed they were only a few miles away from their destination. He checked the time.

"Well, looks like perfect timing, so far. We're 10 minutes away from the jewelry store, and it's 9:45 right now. That will put us there right on time. So, start thinking about the wedding band you want to wear for the rest of your life," Andy said.

"Oh, I'm thinking about the band I'm going to pick out for you. I already have an idea of an engraving for it," Sharon smirked.

"Engraving, huh? I had not thought of that, but that gives me something to think of now," Andy said.

The two pulled into the parking lot and quickly made their way inside. It didn't take long to pick out their rings. Andy went with a traditional plain gold band that would coordinate with his sobriety ring. For Sharon, the couple agreed on a band with diamonds set in it. Again, simple, elegant and classy to go with her solitaire. Each took a moment to speak to the jeweler about their engravings.

"Are you going to tell me what my ring will say?" Andy asked.

"Nope, are you?" Sharon smiled.

"Well, not if you are going to play hardball like that. I guess you can just wait it out, Captain," Andy said.

"The rings won't be ready for a couple of hours, so what else do you have planned Lieutenant?" Sharon asked as she kissed his cheek.

"Another stop, but this one is just for you. I have my own stop, so I'm going to drop you off," Andy replied.

"Andy, you can't drop me off somewhere in a strange town," Sharon scoffed and looked around as they had only driven a couple of miles before he was coming to a stop again.

Sharon looked up at their newest destination. It was a dress shop. "Andy, a dress? What am I supposed to buy?"

"Whatever you would like, sweetheart. This is your day. If you don't find something here, Nancy can take you to another store she loves," Andy smiled.

"Nancy is here?" Sharon asked as she looked around and quickly saw a familiar face walking up to the car.

"Yeah, well, I sent her a text at breakfast this morning that things were a go. This was all part of the plan, so go and enjoy. I'll be back shortly," Andy said.

It took another two hours, but finally, things were set. Sharon had found a dress, and she'd refused to show it to Andy yet.

"No peaking," she said. "I still have a sense of occasion."

The dress had been secured, the rings had been picked up, and Nancy told Sharon that Andy had already take care of the flowers. All that had to be done was to get ready.

"Andy, are we changing at the courthouse?" Sharon asked.

"Well, umm, no, that's another surprise," Andy said.

"Andy, what have you done?" Sharon asked.

"See, there's this romantic Bed and Breakfast right out on the ocean bluffs. Nancy recommended it. She knows the owners, so they said we could have the wedding there. So, she'll meet us there at 4:00. We have a room there all weekend, and that's where we can get ready now."

"Andy, you really amaze me. I am sorry I doubted your skills. I am not sure whether to be impressed or think that I should have been a better detective myself," Sharon said.

"Well, just don't tell my boss," Andy chuckled. "If she finds out how well I kept this covered up, she may find more work for me at the office."

"Oh, I'm sure I can come up with some cold cases for you to solve," Sharon laughed.

"Just remember-you are only the boss at work," Andy smirked.

"Yes, but don't doubt my abilities either," Sharon said as they pulled up to a beautiful inn on the coast. "Andy, this is beautiful!"

"Well, I am glad you are enjoying all of my surprises, and I'm glad I was able to pull all of this off without you suspecting anything," Andy said.

"Well, I must admit, you did a good job. I still can't believe all of this. Everyone at home is going to freak out when they hear about our weekend," Sharon smiled.

"Oh yeah, I'm still waiting to see what your kids say when you have to tell them first," Andy smirked.

"It's a long time until Monday. Let's enjoy this weekend before we have to worry about dealing with everyone at home and work," Sharon said as she got out of the car and took Andy's arm.

"Sure, but you only say that because you know you are going to lose the bet," Andy smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you again for the reviews! This story has taken on a life of its own. I love reading all of these amazing stories, and I decided to write a light, funny one because I thought our favorite couple deserved that much. Enjoy this next chapter!**

Andy woke up again, this time feeling refreshed, even though he could tell his mind had been going a mile a minute as he slept. He rubbed his hands over his face again to wake himself up and smiled at the feel of his wedding ring on his face. The room was bright, but quiet. He rolled over to check on Sharon, and he saw that she was already up. Upon further inspection, the doors to their small balcony were open with a breeze flowing in. It felt wonderful, and he could even hear the waves from the beach in the distance. Slowly, he sat up, stretched, and got out of bed, going in search of Sharon. He didn't have to look long; she was out on the balcony.

"Good morning," he said as he went over and kissed her. "When did you get up? I didn't hear a thing."

Chuckling, Sharon said, "I've been up about an hour. You seemed to be deep in sleep. Coffee was even left for us at the door," she indicated with her cup, "and you didn't hear me get that or smell it as it's been sitting in the room all this time."

With a lazy smile, Andy said, "Well, I had the most wonderful dreams-well, really, it wasn't a dream…it was really just me remembering some of the last couple days. Plus, I've been planning all of these evasive maneuvers to keep my wife in the dark over the last few weeks, so I guess it's finally taken a toll on me."

Sharon got up and put her arms around him loosely, "Well, your wife is very appreciative. I don't think I could have planned anything better if we'd had months to do it. This was just such a wonderful idea. I'm so glad this has been our weekend. It's been amazing. On top of getting married, which itself is making me ecstatic, we've had time to just relax and do nothing while up here. I've really enjoyed this weekend, and for a wedding weekend, it was extremely low stress."

"Yeah, well, we've got the rest of today to enjoy it because come tomorrow, we are back at work and I think we'll have some explaining to do to our family and friends," Andy said as he took Sharon's coffee cup from her and drank some for himself.

"You know, I am not worried about them, Andy. This was for us, and it was everything I wanted it to be. The intimate ceremony by the beach-that was perfect. It was so nice of Nancy to do that for us, and I can't believe she even made a romantic dinner reservation for us last night as a wedding gift. She really went above and beyond. You both did. I still can't believe you proposed to me at 4:00 in the morning in my office, planned all of this without my knowing, and talked me into all of this."

"Talked you into this…is that what you are going to tell the kids when you have to tell them first?" Andy asked.

"Of course not. I won't be telling anyone anything first, but when I do have to tell Ricky and Emily, after you've informed the other three kids, I most definitely will tell them I was pulled along into this," Sharon said with a smirk.

"Great, I will be Dad of the Year with everyone. Well, maybe I will because they've all been saying we should get married before we even really acknowledged we were dating. So, go ahead. It might make me look better. Just be glad it wasn't a Provenza mess that I normally get dragged into," Andy said. "I hate to say this, but we are going to have to get ready to drive back home. I was thinking we could take a leisurely route home and stop for a relaxing brunch on the way?"

"That sound perfect. I guess I will text Rusty to see what time we should expect him. I don't know how we will keep this from him today, but you know if he finds out, all five find out, and the team does," Sharon said.

"I'm not hiding anything, Sharon. I was just hoping we would have this for just us for a couple days. I really am not sure how long a group of highly skilled detectives will be kept in the dark. Our rings alone will tip them off," Andy said.

"Yes, but you're not the boss with some work needed in the evidence room tomorrow. I have a plan for these things. Remember, I'm going with Provenza figuring it out by lunch tomorrow," Sharon said with a small smile.

"No cheating, Sharon. You can't lead him on," Andy said.

"Oh, I won't, but as you said, the game's not over," Sharon smirked as she walked past Andy to get ready for the trip home.

Andy and Sharon returned to their home and normal life later that evening. It was nearing 9:00 before they pulled into their driveway. They spent a lot of their drive back sightseeing and enjoying the day. They had a leisurely lunch, stopped several times to walk on the beach, and had a completely relaxing day. They heard from Rusty mid-afternoon that he and Gus were just getting started home themselves, so Sharon and Andy knew they didn't need to be in a huge hurry. Plans for the evening were further altered when Sharon got another text that the guys had gotten a flat tire, and things were okay now, but because of the delay, Rusty would just "catch up with them tomorrow" as he said. That left Sharon and Andy with another night to themselves.

Work came early the next morning. Thankfully, they were awakened by their alarm and not a roll out in the middle of the night. On the drive into work, Sharon told Andy about a text she'd just received.

"So, I have a meeting now with Chief Howard at 9:00. He needs us to pull some records from evidence. He'd told me about that part over the weekend, but now he's added this meeting. He's also asking for this witness connected to the case to be brought in, so I think I will send Tao, Sanchez, and Buzz out to get the witness while you and Amy get the evidence. Provenza is needed in a meeting with the DDA about a separate case, so he will be out of pocket for a couple hours this morning. Ugh! I can't win the bet if he's not there," Sharon said.

Andy just laughed, "Sharon, you are so funny. You hate mixing home and work, but today, when a bet is on the line, you don't mind at all."

"Yes, you're right, but I can't be the one who has to tell Rusty. I've had to tell him plenty on my own all these years. I think this is a guy to guy conversation, father to son," Sharon said.

"Yeah, because telling him-hey Rusty, congratulations to you-I just married your mom, and your prize is a dad!" Andy said. "Yeah, that will go over well."

"I didn't say it would. That's why I don't want to do it," Sharon laughed.

The two pulled into Sharon's parking place at work and collected their things for the day.

"Well, one perk so far. My wife has a better parking place than I do," Andy laughed.

"Yes, your wife does. Keep it up, and you won't be riding with her to park in it," Sharon said.

As they neared the elevators, Sharon turned to Andy, "I love you. I had a wonderful weekend with you. I wanted to tell you that since I won't be able to say it again until tonight. I'm going to look at my flowers all day, thinking of you. Why don't you go on down to evidence now and get started? I'll send Amy down when I get to the office."

"Sounds good, and I really love you, Sharon," Andy said as he snuck in a quick kiss before the two went their separate ways.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team had been assembling upstairs for the morning.

"Has anyone seen the Captain or Flynn yet this morning?" Provenza grumbled. "I have to meet with the DDA and wanted to check in with the Captain. I also wanted to find out what Flynn did to get himself in the doghouse."

"Doghouse, sir?" Julio asked. "What makes you say that?"

"The flowers, Julio. Didn't you see that ridiculous spread of flowers in her office? I put some paperwork on her desk, and he must have messed up big time for that kind of arrangement."

Tao sprung up from his desk and peeked into Sharon's office window. "You're not kidding! Was there a card?"

"No, already checked," Provenza said. "Of course, no question about who they are from, and you can't grovel much on a card. I guess he'll save that for in person."

"Well, it could make for a tense morning if there's still trouble in paradise," Amy said. "$10 says she's mad at him all day."

"I'll take that bet. I say Flynn has his puppy dog eyes and fixes things before lunch," Provenza said.

"Sir, I will throw in $10 that we see the Darth Raydor look aimed at the Lieutenant," Julio said.

"I'm staying out of it," Tao said. "I will love watching it unfold."

"What unfold?" Buzz asked as he walked through the room.

"Looks like the Captain and Lieutenant had a bit of a disagreement," Amy pointed out. "Look at the spread of flowers."

"Oh great. Last time they had a disagreement was awhile ago with the ballet tickets, and you could cut the tension with a knife. I'm hiding out in electronics until we can gauge the situation," Buzz said.

"Buzz-I don't' say this much, but I like that idea. On that note, I'm going to my meeting. When you see the Captain, tell her I'll be back when I'm done," Provenza said.

As Provenza waited for the elevator, he ran into Sharon getting off of it.

"Ah, Lieutenant, heading to you meeting?" Sharon asked.

"Yes, Captain. I'll see you later," Provenza said. "Where's Flynn this morning?"

"I already sent him to evidence to collect the materials we need. I'm meeting with Chief Howard now, so yes, I will see you later," Sharon said.

As Sharon headed to her office, Provenza sent a quick text to the team, minus Andy, "Worse than we thought-Flynn, the lapdog, was already sent to evidence. She doesn't even want him around. Brace yourselves!"

As Sharon entered the murder room, she greeted everyone, "Good morning. Amy, could you go downstairs and help Andy with the evidence we need. Mike, would you Julio, and Buzz go and collect our witness?

"Sure, Captain," Mike said and sent a quick reply to everyone, "Yup, it must be bad. She wants everyone busy and out of the office. No chit chat this morning."

Sharon settled in her office, smiling as she took in her beautiful floral arrangement. She glanced at her watch and saw she had enough time to swing by Human Resources before meeting with Chief Howard. She was glad he setup a meeting, anyways, because she knew she needed to discuss her newly updated personal status with him. She definitely didn't want him finding out from the team. Sharon took the elevator to Human Resources to gather the new paperwork.

"Good morning, Captain Raydor. To what do I owe the pleasure?" the desk clerk asked.

"Well, some in my division need to update their personnel packets, specifically the beneficiary sections. Do you need that to be done online or on paper?" Sharon asked.

"Well, the online version has not been working properly, so let me give you a few packets. Your people can update them, drop them off here, and we'll get things updated," the clerk said.

"Thank you. I'll make sure they are returned to you this week," Sharon said, as she took the paperwork and left to meet with Chief Howard.

Meanwhile, Andy was digging through the evidence room when Amy found him.

"Ahh, lieutenant, good morning. How is it coming along?" Amy said.

"Morning, Amy. There's a lot here so it might take us awhile," Andy replied.

Amy tried to make small talk to find out about the flowers.

"So, lieutenant, nice weekend?" she said.

"Yes, nice weekend. Wish I wasn't stuck down here," Andy said.

Amy took that last part as Andy seeming to be in trouble, "Well, lieutenant, I saw the flowers upstairs. Nice job. I'm sure she will love them."

"Yeah, well, she does love flowers," Andy said as he continued to work.

Amy, not getting much out of Andy, put on her gloves, as Andy already had done, and started digging through the evidence.

Sharon walked into her meeting with Chief Howard, armed with her notes and another change in status form.

"Good morning, Captain. Looks like you got some rest this weekend after the long hours last week," Fritz said.

"Good morning to you, Chief, and yes, I did get some rest. In fact, I had a wonderful weekend," Sharon said.

"Oh really, anything special? I'm always looking for somewhere new to take Brenda. Good restaurant, maybe?" Fritz said.

"Well," chuckling now, Sharon said, "sort of. We did eat at an amazing restaurant, but it was up the coast. Chief, this paperwork should explain."

Sharon handed over her paperwork and Fritz glanced at it. His eyebrows rose as he started to smile.

"Well, congratulations, Captain. This is great news. I hadn't heard anything about you getting married," Fritz said.

Smirking, Sharon said, "I hadn't either until Andy asked me Friday."

"Oh, I see. Well, you certainly did have a great weekend. Brenda will be shocked, but happy for both of you. I'm sure your team is excited," Fritz replied.

"Chief, they don't know yet, and I'm begging you not say anything. Andy and I sort of have a bet about their finding out," Sharon smiled.

Fritz smiled back, "No worries, Captain. My lips are sealed. Congratulations again. You two complement each other very nicely. I have to admit, I wouldn't have put the two of you together years ago, but you have both surprised me. I'm going to be anxious to hear how your team reacts when they finally find out. Now, things have been going fine with you two working together. Your files note no issues at all. Am I to assume you wish to continue with him still under your command?" Fritz asked.

"Yes, we are married now, but that won't change anything at work. Thank you for seeing that," Sharon said.

"Okay then. Well, good luck telling the team. Let's get to work," Fritz said.

The rest of the day passed by pretty quietly for Sharon. She could tell something was up, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She'd been left alone for most of the day, with the rare exception of a needed signature here or there. Andy and Amy had been stuck in evidence most of the day. They had hoped to have finished earlier, but they got stuck looking for a box that took a couple of hours to find. By the end of the day, the team had not received a case, which was a welcome relief, allowing them to get caught up on other backlogs.

"Captain, is there anything else today?" Provenza asked as he poked his head into Sharon's office.

"No, lieutenant, please tell everyone to go home. We could use a normal evening for a change," Sharon smiled.

"Okay, Captain. Well, have a nice evening. I'm sure Flynn and Sykes will be up soon," Provenza replied.

"Yes, indeed. They certainly have made a day of it," Sharon remarked.

Provenza quickly withdrew from Sharon's office door.

"I'd say go now, people! She wasn't upset with me, but Flynn isn't here. I'm guessing he and Sykes are on their way up soon," Provenza hissed.

"Yes, I just asked Sykes when she would finish, and she said 15 minutes, Sir. That was about five minutes ago," Julio commented. "Sykes also noted that Flynn has been pretty quiet today-business as usual, but nothing more."

"Well, I'm leaving. I don't need to be in the middle of a Flynn-Raydor fight. She's been staring at those flowers all day," Tao noted.

The team quickly left while Sharon finished signing more paperwork. Andy had sent her a text that he would be up soon, and she had replied that she was ready to go when he finished. Sharon was a little annoyed that she'd lost the bet. She didn't know how it had gone unnoticed all day. Of course, she was in her office most of the day, and Andy was stuck in evidence. She sighed and put her head in her hands. She really didn't want to have to lose this bet. She started thinking of ways Andy wouldn't be able to win the next day.

Their evening at home was uneventful, so much so that they never saw Rusty. He sent them a text that he had a study group at the library until 10, and after that, he was planning on grabbing a late night burger before coming home. Tuesday morning, Sharon and Andy were up, out of the house, before they even saw Rusty. The two thought the situation was comical. They had gotten married several days ago now, and really in town, only Chief Howard knew. Neither wanted to admit defeat with the bet, and Andy was still confident he could win, so up to this point, neither wanted to tell their kids. That meant admitting defeat and ultimately, telling Rusty. They had a feeling things were going to change today.

Tuesday started very much the same way as Monday; the team was friendly, but not exactly warm and welcoming from the team. Sharon knew something was up, and she was hoping that Andy could figure it out. She knew they wouldn't tell her, but she knew they would talk to him since he was "one of them" and not the boss.

Andy and Sharon had ridden up the elevator together, until Andy got off on the floor with Human Resources. The two had taken care of all the paperwork the night before, and he had volunteered to drop it off while Sharon got settled. Sharon entered the room, alone again, and she swore she could hear some groaning when she walked in.

"Good morning, everyone," Sharon commented.

"Captain, I just got a call about a roll out," Provenza replied. "We are on our way out, and I'll text you the information once I have it. Where's desk monkey today?"

"Andy is in the building, Lieutenant. I'm sure if you text him, he will be happy to meet you downstairs," Sharon said.

The team exchanged glances. Clearly, things had not improved. It was going to be another long day. Maybe it was a good thing they would be distracted with a case now so as to not have tension in the office. The team gathered their things and headed out while Sharon awaited the case details. She silently cursed the situation, though, because with Andy now off with the team for the morning, she was likely to lose yet again.


	7. Chapter 7

The morning continued on with the team at the crime scene. Because Andy was late in joining the rest of the group as they left the building, he drove his own car there. At the crime scene, no one noted anything different about Andy, mainly because they were all wearing gloves again. As the victim was sent off to the morgue, and the rest of the team continued to collect evidence, Provenza pulled Andy aside.

"Flynn! Why don't you escort our victim to the morgue? I'll let the Captain know you are on your way," Provenza said knowing that whatever these two had going on, he needed them to sort it out before the team had to spend the afternoon working together.

"Fine, Provenza. I'll see you back at work," Andy said.

Back at the station, Sharon got off the elevator at the morgue. She walked down the hall, where she ran into Andy coming out of the restroom.

"Hi sweetheart," Andy said. "I was thinking that after we finish here with Morales that I would pick up lunch."

"That's a great idea," Sharon said. "Something has been off with the team, and maybe we can bribe everyone with a good lunch before we really get going on the case. Why don't you pick up lunch from our favorite deli for the team?"

"Sounds good. Let's see what Morales has for us," Andy smiled and opened the door for Sharon.

"Ahh, Captain, Lieutenant. Come on in. Let me catch you up on our victim," Morales said.

Andy and Sharon walked over to the victim, and before Morales could even begin his exam, he stopped and looked at the two.

"Umm, did I miss the party?" Morales asked.

"Excuse me, doctor? What's that?" Sharon asked.

"Captain, Lieutenant, congratulations. When did you get married? I must be slipping down here. I hadn't heard," Morales said.

Sharon and Andy looked at each other, smiling. "Thanks, Morales," Andy said. "We got married over the weekend, and you are the first to figure it out."

"What? How have you kept this from those elite detectives you work with upstairs?" Morales asked.

Laughing, Sharon said, "Yes, that is the question. It just hasn't come up."

"Hasn't come up?" Morales questioned. "Captain, I must say that your ring doesn't exactly hide itself. Nice job, Lieutenant."

"Ah, thanks, Morales. Yes, we're really happy. We've been busy with a case, and well, to tell you the truth, we have a little bet going on with telling everyone," Andy smirked.

"A bet-what does the loser have to do?" Morales asked.

"Andy will have to tell the kids first," Sharon answered.

"What Sharon didn't tell you is that when SHE loses, she has to tell the kids first," Andy stated.

"Oh my, this sounds entertaining. How many kids-five is it between you?" Morales asked.

"Yes, five. Andy has two. I have Emily and Ricky who live away, and we are claiming Rusty together since he still lives with us and we are both the only parents he really has, and well, the loser has to tell Rusty at home," Sharon answered.

"My, my, well, good luck to you both. I don't know who to root for in this. I think I will stick to the morgue here where people can't talk back. Now, let's get to the victim," Morales said as he got to work.

Sharon was back in her office when the rest of the team filed back into the Murder Room. Andy was still out getting lunch, and Julio was quick to note that things hadn't changed.

Quietly, "Umm, guys, where's Flynn? Captain is working in her office, and he's nowhere around," Julio said.

"Great. Just what we need, a tense work environment," Amy said.

"I'll deal with Flynn later. Let's get things setup people," Provenza said.

Sharon noted the team had come back in and stood, walking to her doorway. "Once you get all of that setup, go ahead, have some lunch, and then we'll regroup." Because she had been in the middle of reading some preliminary findings, she went back to work. As the team setup, Andy came in with lunch.

"Okay, I have lunch for everyone. I think I remembered everyone's usual," Andy said.

"Thanks, Lieutenant," Amy said, as she found her food and made her way to the breakroom. "I have some fruit salad that will go nicely with this."

Tao followed Amy, in search of coffee from the breakroom. Julio stepped away to make a phone call home, and Buzz grabbed his food and went back to his desk.

"Flynn, what are you doing?" Provenza asked?

"What do you mean, Provenza?" Andy questioned.

"Get in there and give her the lunch you bought," Provenza said.

Smirking, Andy said, "Well, if my choice is to eat with you or her, I'll stick with her."

Andy brought lunch into Sharon's office, and she looked up, smiling at him.

"I didn't realize how hungry I was until I smelled the food. Thank you," Sharon said.

"My pleasure. What's up with Provenza today?" Andy asked.

"Hmm, I'm not sure, but he's been off. It's Provenza though, so I'm sure it will pass. Now, about this bet," Sharon said, "We never discussed what would happen if we both lost."

Andy, throwing his hands in the air, "Sharon, never did I think it would take this long. Now, it's just getting awkward. We have to tell everyone, including the kids."

Provenza watched the exchange from his desk, "Buzz, I don't know if he's getting anywhere with his groveling. Look at him now, throwing his hands in the air. Next thing we'll see is him begging."

"I'm telling you, Lieutenant, if this turns into another Nutcracker argument," and Buzz was interrupted with Rusty walking in.

"Rusty, what are they fighting about," Provenza asked, as he pointed toward Sharon's office.

"Huh," Rusty said as he looked over at Sharon and Andy. "No idea. I was gone all weekend, and then we keep missing each other at home. Hey Buzz, ready to get to work on the next Vlog?"

Back in Sharon's office, Andy had a thought.

"Okay, Sharon, what do you say that well tell Rusty tonight at home-together, and as soon as we finish with him, we can get a group chat setup with the other kids. Ricky could do that with all his techno stuff, right?"

"Oh, alright. I suppose that is the best compromise. Fine. What about the team?" Sharon asked.

"Well, we could tell them before we all go home tonight. You know, work the case, and mention it as we are packing up for the day," Andy answered.

"Okay, that's reasonable, but I'll let you do the honors of telling them," Sharon smiled.

"Sounds like a plan," Andy said, as he stood to collect the trash. As he turned, he noticed Sharon's flowers. "Sharon, I'm sorry the flowers haven't lasted longer. I was hoping they would last until the end of the week."

Sighing, Sharon said, "Yes, me too. I guess they didn't get watered over the weekend, but that's okay. Now, they are just starting to make a mess dropping petals on the desk and floor. They were beautiful and put a smile on my face all day yesterday while you weren't here and stuck down in evidence. I guess it's time to get rid of them. If you collect the lunch trash, I'll toss these."

"I'll even throw in a cup of tea for you while I am throwing out lunch," Andy smiled and headed out of her office.

Provenza watched Andy walk off and noted that Sharon had also gotten up out of her chair. He watched her pick up the bouquet of flowers, walk out of her office, and throw them out, before going back to her desk. In fact, the whole team, who had now returned from lunch, witnessed it.

"We're in for a long afternoon, Sir," Julio said.

"What's going on?" Rusty asked as he turned to the group.

"Rusty, Lieutenant Flynn and your mom seem to have some sort of fight going on. There was a huge bouquet of flowers on her desk Monday morning, they've barely spoken the last two days because he hasn't been in the office much, and now, she just threw out the flowers," Buzz recounted.

"Man, I had no idea. I really don't know what the fight is about," Rusty said.

The team stopped talking when Sharon came back out of her office, "Okay, everyone, what do we have?"

As the team started to recount the crime scene, Andy dropped off a cup of tea for Sharon. The team noticed that she didn't really stop and make eye contact with Andy, but that wasn't always strange when she was in crime solving mode. Andy walked back to his desk, sat down, and started working on pulling the financials of their victim. As they were working, Dr. Morales walked into the Murder Room.

"Ahh, crime solving at its best," he remarked. "Captain, I have an update on our victim."

"Doctor, I'm glad you are here. I have a question for you from the preliminary paperwork," Sharon said. "It's on my desk. Let me get it."

"No worries, Captain. I will follow you and update you with this while I do," Morales said as he and Sharon walked into her office. Tao and Julio resumed their computer work, and Amy started digging through the evidence. Buzz and Rusty were hard at work. Provenza sat back, and did what he enjoyed doing best-supervise.

"Excuse me," a younger, unknown voice said from the doorway to the Murder Room.

"Can I help you?" Provenza asked as everyone in the room looked up.

"I'm looking for a Lieutenant Flynn," the young man in his mid-20's said.

Andy, who was highlighting financials, turned to the young man and said, "I'm Lieutenant Flynn. How can I help you?"

The young man walked toward Andy and as he was walking said, "Hi Lieutenant. I'm Will from Human Resources. I have a question for you about your form if you have a minute."

Before Andy could answer, Provenza threw down his crossword and stood, pointing at Andy.

"Wait a minute-paperwork, Human Resources, flowers-FLYNN, what have you done? Have you gone and done something so stupid I just can't even, even say it! Flynn, are you retiring?" Provenza yelled exasperated.

At this, Sharon and Dr. Morales heard the commotion in the Murder Room and stepped out of her office to see what was going on. All eyes were moving back and forth between Provenza and Andy wondering what Will from Human Resources was doing here.

"Retiring, that's what they are fighting about?" Buzz said to Rusty. "Lt. Flynn is going to retire?"

"Oh my, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to cause any concern," Will said. "Lieutenant Flynn, I don't have retirement papers here; I just had a question regarding your wife in the beneficiary section of the paperwork."

At this, Andy threw up his hands, lifted his head toward the sky and rolled his eyes, mumbling, "Unbelievable."

With that, Sharon could be heard laughing or was it crying-no one could tell.

"Your wife!" Provenza screamed.

All eyes turned toward Sharon, where she was still laughing so hard she'd started to snort.

"Definitely laughing," Rusty said, "She's snorting now."

Andy took a deep breath and schooled himself before looking at Will.

"I'm sorry, Sir. We can go somewhere private to finish this conversation. I just needed to ask you about your wife's place of employment in case of death notification, etc. I had no idea this would be a huge problem."

Andy, sighing again and shaking his head, was really trying not to explode. This was NOT how everyone should find out. The team, Rusty-what a mess. "Listen, you moron, place of employment-her work is right there, that office," Andy pointed. My wife is Captain Sharon Raydor, that lady over there," Andy said as he pointed at Sharon. "So, you need her place of employment in the case of a death notification-it's that office. Do you need an office room number? In fact, you might as well put nothing there because she, as the commanding officer, would be notified first because if something happens to me, it would be in the field, where she'd know about it."

"Andy!" Sharon said as she got his attention. She shook her head, as to say to let it be.

Everyone in the room was sitting there, speechless, except Morales, who was smiling next to Sharon and Provenza who was now standing near Andy with a completely stunned expression on his face.

"Wow, I picked the right time to come up here. I really need to get out of the morgue more often," Morales joked.

Sharon, who had finally gotten control of her laughing after getting Andy's attention said, "Will, I'm sorry this is a mess. Please come into my office to straighten this out."

"Um, I really have to apologize. I am so sorry, Lieutenant Flynn. I had no idea. I'm relatively new in Human Resources. People there have said Major Crimes is a close bunch; I just had no idea how close," Will said.

This comment got Sharon laughing again putting her hands over her face, as the team was still trying to put everything together.

"Rings-they have rings," Julio stood up pointing. "Sir, you really got married?"

Provenza finally had composed himself and went right up to Andy, "You married her? What the? Of all the dumb things you could have done…"

"I love her Provenza," Andy said, "so yes, I married her."

"Well, we all know that, you moron! I not mad you married her. I'm mad you didn't tell us before. We have all had to sit here for YEARS, YEARS Flynn and watch you fall in love with each other. I knew you loved her at least three years ago. Puppy dog eyes, dating, not dating, maybe dating, whatever you want to call it-you've been in love with each other for quite awhile. Yes, you too Captain. You might not be as obvious, but you've had it bad too. The two of you make us watch the soap opera unfold, and this is how you repay us? Flynn, you go off and marry her without saying anything. You owe us. You owe us, big." Provenza said as he pointed his finger at Andy. "I expect a party-a big party-this weekend, your house, and no, I won't be bringing a wedding gift. My gift to you is that I didn't throttle you years ago when you started with all this 'Sharon and I are just friends' mess."

As he walked away from Andy, Provenza patted Rusty on the back, "Congratulations, kid. It's a dad. I'll see if I can get you a balloon."

"Wait, what?" Rusty said as he was just coming out of his foggy haze of the situation.

"Mom, you got married? When did this happen? When were you going to tell me? Do Ricky and Emily know?" Rusty started rattling off questions.

At this point, Will realized he'd walked into quite a mess. "Captain, lieutenant, I will work on this paperwork and let you know-privately-most likely by email now-if I have any questions. This has been, umm, interesting."

"Thank you, Will," Sharon said, ignoring Rusty's comment for the moment. "If you check my paperwork, it should have the information you need, and I know I listed how to contact Andy. I believe I just listed he could be found in the Major Crimes Division. That should be enough to put in his packet."

"Ah, yes, it should be fine. I didn't realize the two of you worked together. My apologies. Here, I thought coming to meet you in person would be nice. I'm trying to put names to faces. Safe to say, I won't forget the two of you," and with that, Will left.

"Well, this has been fun. I'm going to leave the land of the living and return to the morgue. "Congratulations again Captain and Lieutenant, and for what it is worth to the rest of you ELITE detectives, I figured it out this morning in the morgue. Lieutenant Provenza, do let me know about the party; I think I've earned my right to be there as well. Flirting in the morgue isn't a concept many could actually put into action, but these two have been flirting in the morgue for years!" Morales smiled as he quickly exited.

All eyes turned to Sharon and Andy, who were now standing next to each other. "Surprise!" Sharon said to everyone, trying to break the tension.

"You thought I was going to retire?" Andy addressed, still not even past that comment. "What in the world led you to that?"

"Listen to my Casanova," Provenza said. "You got her flowers! We all wondered how badly you had messed up. Captain, you sent him away all day yesterday, and you've barely been in the building together. Then, today, Captain, you threw out his flowers. Human Resources-paperwork-well, it sounded like you were arguing about Flynn retiring."

Sharon looked at Andy, and both started laughing. "Lieutenant, I don't know what to think of your detective skills. Let me try and set the record straight. Yes, Andy got me flowers-but-but, that was because he'd proposed to me. I had to throw them out today because they were dying and dropping petals on my floor. Yes, I did send him to evidence, but that was only because he and Amy collect evidence well. He is tall enough to reach things on the ladder, and Amy doesn't mind digging around. We've been all over the building, mainly because we had to update our paperwork with Human Resources and that took some time. And, to answer the big question you all have, yes, Andy and I got married this weekend. We talked about having a bigger wedding here, and quite frankly, we decided we didn't want to wait. We wanted to do something for just us, so an old friend of mine, a judge up in Northern California married us."

"Mom, seriously! You didn't tell me?" Rusty jumped up exclaiming. "When were you going to tell me?"

"Rusty, calm down," Andy said. "Your mother and I were going to tell you. We haven't exactly all been crossing paths at home. Plus, we had our little bet going on."

"ANDY!" Sharon tried silencing him.

"What bet, Lieutenant," Julio smirked.

Sighing, Andy said, "I had to open my mouth. Okay, here's the deal. Sharon and I had a little bet on which one of you would figure it out first. Looks like we both lost, so it doesn't matter."

"What did the winner get?" Julio, now smiling prodded.

Andy, sighing again, "Might as well come clean now-okay, the loser had to tell his or her kids first and Rusty."

"Hey, why was I singled out?" Rusty asked.

"Rusty, you live with us. We discussed that we both are your parents, so we kind of figured you were the 'ours' of the 'his, hers, ours' kids," Sharon said.

"We figured we would tell you first and then your brothers and sisters," Andy said.

Groaning, "Ugh! Brothers and sisters, plural. It was bad enough when I got one of each. Now, my siblings are multiplying," Rusty grumbled as he put his head on the desk.

"Rusty, that's enough," Andy said. "This isn't all about you."

Chuckling, Julio commented, "Spoken like a true dad."

Grinning, both Sharon and Andy turned to the group. "Guys, seriously, we weren't trying to keep things quiet. We just did something for us because we love each other and so much of our lives are for everyone else. The bet was just another funny idea we had, and well, now you know. I don't even want to ask how much money all of you have made at Sharon's and my expense over the years. Could we get back to work now and stop talking about it?" Andy asked.

"Who did you bet on?" Sykes asked quietly.

Chuckling, Andy said, "Well, that doesn't matter now."

"Yeah, sir. We have a right to know. You owe us now," Julio said.

"Well, I'm guessing Andy went with his pal Provenza and the Captain with Amy-you know, girls and all," Tao said.

"Ha! You couldn't be more wrong, Tao," Andy said as Sharon smacked him.

"Andy! What happened to it doesn't matter?" Sharon scoffed.

Sighing, Andy said, "Fine. I bet on Tao because he notices everything, and Sharon picked Provenza."

"What? You didn't even stick with me. You're slipping, Flynn, and Captain-thank you. I never would have guessed you'd have it in you to pick me," Provenza said.

"Well, I wish I could say thank you back. I'm just disappointed my second in command didn't come through for me. Could you not notice my wedding ring?" Sharon asked.

"Ahh, it's a beautiful ring, Captain. Good job, Andy," Tao said.

"Congratulations, Captain and Lieutenant," Buzz noted.

"I'm so excited for you both!" Amy said, as she hugged Sharon and then Andy.

"Bout time, Lieutenant," Julio smirked. "Ma'am if he ever hurts you…you come to me."

"I'm not doing anything until I hear when this party will be," Provenza said with a glare at Andy.

"Seriously, Provenza! A party! Can't you be happy for us?" Andy asked.

"Fine. Andy, we can have a party. How about everyone come over Saturday night?" Sharon asked.

Rusty, who had finally gotten over his shock said, "You know. I can actually help with that. I'll see if Gus can do the food."

"See there. Sounds great. Thank you, Rusty. We can talk more at home," Sharon said.

"Captain! Your ring is beautiful. Did you engrave them?" Amy asked as you pulled on Sharon's hand to get a look at the ring.

Andy, laughing said, "Oh, you bet we did."

"OHHH, what do they say?" Amy asked.

"Well, I tried to be nice and somewhat romantic with mine," Andy said. "Sharon, tell them what I had put on your ring."

"I wasn't as much in the romantic thinking, but what I put on his seemed to fit. He put on mine, "Till Death Do Us Part."

"Ahhhh, that's so romantic!" Sykes exclaimed.

"Ugh, like seriously, I don't need to hear this," Rusty complained.

"Captain, what did you put on his," Julio asked, now curious.

"Well, we are always in game mindsets, and he kept telling me that I wouldn't see a proposal coming. So, he proposed to me in my office in the middle of the night. He told me that he had won that game because I really had no idea. I thought we had a case," Sharon was talking as she was interrupted.

"You proposed to the Captain in her office," Buzz asked Andy. "…in the middle of the night. You couldn't do anything better than that?"

"Wow, sir. I wish we could have given you some pointers," Julio said. "She must really love you to say yes to that in her office."

"You asked my mom to marry you where you solve murders and arrest horrible people!" Rusty exclaimed.

"Calm down, everyone! Yes, I did. She's a bloodhound as far as figuring things out-you all know that, so I had to get her completely off her game," Andy said. "So, yes, I won. I surprised her."

"Captain, so what does his ring say?" Amy asked again.

"I think I got the final laugh there. Andy's ring says, 'I won you.'"


	8. Chapter 8

The team spent the rest of the week solving their latest case. Things got back to normal for Sharon and Andy after they got everything out in the open with the team. The kids were a different story. Sharon and Andy had both pleaded with Rusty to not tell his siblings until they had a chance to do so. They'd been stuck at the office so late that it was Thursday evening before they had a chance to contact everyone. Sharon had been short and void of details on some text messages to both Ricky and Emily throughout the week, promising to call once their case was settled. The two had discussed their best course of action in contacting all the kids, but with the kids spread out everywhere and with Rusty now in the know, they figured they would start tackling the kids, one at a time. First up was Nicole. Andy had spoken to her Wednesday asking if she wanted to come over for dinner Friday night, and she has insisted that she cook dinner since they'd had a long week.

That brought Sharon and Andy to Nicole's front door on Friday night.

"Well, here we go. You know she will be delighted," Sharon smiled at Andy as the two walked up to Nicole's house.

"I'm not worried about that; I know she will be upset she didn't get to see the wedding. Remember back to her wedding-she loves weddings. She has a sense of occasion like someone else I-

"Grandpa Andy! Grandma Sharon!" Andy was interrupted as Nicole's two stepsons flew open the door to run out and greet Sharon and Andy.

"Whoa! Hi you two!" Sharon said happily. "We have missed seeing you so much!" Sharon smiled as she felt herself pulled into the house.

"Ohhhh, that's a pretty ring, Grandma Sharon," Tommy said. "Where did you get it?"

Andy froze, looking over at Sharon, where he saw Tommy holding Sharon's hand and now playing with her ring. He looked at Sharon with a panicked expression, one she missed because she was still looking at Tommy.

"Let me see it," Matthew said, letting go of Andy's hand and running over to also grab Sharon's hand.

"Dad, Sharon, hi! Boys what are you doing?" Nicole asked as she came out of the kitchen.

"Umm, Nicole, there's something…

"Mom, look! Grandma Sharon has a pretty ring! Grandma Sharon where did you get it?" Tommy said again.

As Nicole looked over at the two boys, her eyes got bigger as she realized what hand and finger the ring seemed to be on.

"Oh my goodness, Dad, Sharon!" Nicole said as she brought her hands to her mouth. "You got engaged, finally!"

At this point, Nicole was almost jumping up and down. Sharon and Andy glanced at each other, both trying to figure out how to steer the conversation.

"Umm, Nicole, about that…

"Dean! Come here! Dad and Sharon are engaged!" Nicole yelled into the kitchen.

Sharon smirked at Andy as she felt herself being pulled toward the kitchen by not one, not two, but three sets of hands.

"Engaged? What's that?" Matthew asked.

"Ohhh, I can't wait! Matthew it means there will be a big wedding for Grandpa Andy and Grandma Sharon. That's why they wanted to see us," Nicole said as she pulled Sharon up to Dean. "Dean, look at this. Let me actually look at this. I haven't really seen it myself yet."

"Nicole, we should," Sharon started, but was interrupted again.

"Wait, what? Dad, what's going on? What's up with the ring?" Nicole asked. "Dad, it looks like this is both an engagement ring and a wedding band?"

At this, Andy sighed again with his eyes on the ceiling. "Nicole," he started, and instead of finding words, he just lifted his own hand. "It is a wedding band. We got married. See, here's mine."

"What? You did what? When did you get married? You've been on a case all week!" Nicole exclaimed.

"Yeah, we have. We got married last week," Andy said.

Dean, now chuckling, said, "Oh Andy, thank you for this. Here I thought she'd be mad at me because I forgot to stop and get dessert on my way home, but this, thank you, this gets me out of the doghouse."

"Dad, really? You really got married? Sharon, is this true? Why now? What? I'm so confused," Nicole said as she sat down at the table.

"Mommy, why are you mad?" Matthew asked.

"Oh, I'm not mad, sweetie. Grandpa Andy and Grandma Sharon just told us a big surprise, and well, it surprised me.

"Nicole, we weren't trying to keep anything from you. Your father and I decided to get married last weekend. He proposed to me last Friday, and well, we decided we didn't want to wait anymore," Sharon said.

Laughing now, Nicole said, "Now, you don't want to wait. Forget the last three years or more that you have been friends, maybe more than friends, definitely more than friends, but you didn't know or admit it, finally dating, but we didn't believe it, finally dating but not in love even though you were, finally everything out in the open after Dad's accident, and now married. Wow, I just thought we'd finally see some of the romance play out."

"Sweetheart, please don't be upset. This was for us. I'm sorry we didn't tell you before now, but in the end, you wanted Sharon and I to be happy. We really are. We're so happy," Andy smiled as he took Sharon's hand.

"Congratulations you two. It's about time. Nicole and I would like to think our wedding was a turning point for the two of you," Dean smiled as he shook Andy's hand.

"Yes, well, I was just helping Andy out by going to your wedding," Sharon commented.

"Oh, here we go again! It was so obvious you two had the hots for each other! Come on. Even if you didn't want to admit it, Dad never danced with a "friend" or a boss like that. Welcome to the family, officially, Sharon," Nicole said as she hugged Sharon.

"What's going on?" Matthew asked.

"Well, sport, Grandma Sharon and I are married now. Nothing really changes for you or Tommy. We both still love you very much. Now, you just have two more uncles and an aunt to spoil you. Uncle Rusty said to tell you hi and he hoped to see you soon," Andy said as he picked up Matthew.

"Oh no!" Nicole said as she smacked her hand against her head.

"What is it, Nicole?" Sharon asked.

"I can't believe it. I lost a couple of bets. Ugh! Now I owe Ricky and Provenza!" Nicole said.

"What? You owe Ricky and Provenza? Andy questioned. "What on earth is going on?"

"Well, the kids all had bets on when you would get engaged. I took New Year's only because Emily took Christmas. She said it would fit with Sharon's sense of occasion. Rusty said you would hold out for at least another year, Sharon, even with Dad's puppy dog eyes. Charlie thought it would be Valentine's Day, and Ricky wins because he refused to name a date, but he said that he thought the two of you would do just this-get married without telling anyone! None of the rest of us took him seriously at all, and now, thanks a lot! How was Ricky the correct one in all of this?" Nicole sighed.

"You all had bets on us?" Sharon questioned. "What have you children become? Corrupt, that's what. Taking bets on your parents behind your back. Andy, what are we going to do with them?" Sharon shook her head even though she had a sly smile on her face.

"You said Provenza. Why do you owe him?" Andy asked.

"Provenza sent me a text on Tuesday afternoon telling me that the team was taking bets on the "Desk Monkey Wedding" as he called it. Wait, when did the team find out? Did they?" Nicole asked Andy.

Laughing, Andy said, "Oh Nicole. He got you. They found out Tuesday. The old goat-he wanted to make money off of you. He already knew."

"Oh, that partner of yours! He is so cheap he will try to make money off his friends' wedding!" Nicole said fuming.

"Yeah, well we got him ourselves. He was blown away we got married. He thought I was going to retire," Andy said.

"and that you and I were fighting over said retirement," Sharon added.

"Well, one of the things we wanted to tell you about was the party we are having tomorrow evening. Really, I meant to tell you earlier this week. We both wanted to. This case was a bit taxing. Anyways, Provenza talked us into a party at our house tomorrow night. The team will be there, so you can pay him back then. I hope you can come," Andy said, smiling at Nicole.

"Dean, do we have anything going on?" Nicole asked.

"Nothing except Andy and Sharon's party," Dean added. "Although, what about the boys?"

"Of course the boys are invited!" Sharon commented. "Our grandchildren are always welcome."

"Wow, thanks Sharon. I'm so happy for you and Dad. The boys love you to pieces, as do I. Of course we will come to the party. Now, let's eat, and you can tell me about the wedding and the reactions from the other kids," Nicole said as she got up to finish dinner.

"Well, about that Nicole…Rusty found out, but we haven't exactly told the others yet," Andy said.

Sighing, Nicole said, "Dad, it took you three years to get to this point. Why am I not surprised it is taking you both time to tell your own children? Come on. Let's eat. You will tell them before the party tomorrow, or I'll Facetime all of them at the party and tell them myself-well, maybe not Ricky. I'm still bitter he won the bet." 


	9. Chapter 9

Saturday morning arrived with Andy shuffling down the hall to the kitchen. It was only 7:00, but he couldn't sleep anymore. Rusty had already left the house for the day, and that had awakened Andy awhile ago. Andy wasn't mad about Rusty waking him up. The kid had good intentions. He was getting a really early start to the day by grocery shopping for all the party food. Then, he was going to drop it off at Gus's place where he was going to help Gus prepare everything. Andy was actually glad that he didn't have a lot to do for this party. While he was waiting for the coffee to brew, he thought back to the night before. Things had gone okay; well, they had actually gone pretty well. Having the boys discover Sharon's ring wasn't in the plan, but overall, Nicole had taken things well. She wasn't too mad at them for their wedding plans, or lack thereof. She had promised not to say anything to her brother, but Andy and Sharon had also promised to finish telling the kids today. As the coffee was just finishing up, Andy heard a sound coming from Sharon's computer, which she'd left on the kitchen counter. He opened it to find a Facetime request from Emily. Emily-they'd tried to chat with her on Thursday night, but she'd gotten tied up at work. She had a long night Friday, so they had planned to chat sometime today. Sharon just thought it would be sometime after lunch.

Andy accepted the request, "Hey kiddo! What's up, Twinkle Toes?"

Giggling, Emily said, "Hi Andy. How are you? Oh, I didn't wake you did I? Sometimes I forget about the three-hour time difference."

"Nah, I'm making coffee, but your mother is still asleep," Andy replied.

"Oh, that's a shame. I was hoping to catch her. We've been playing phone tag this week. I have plans for the day, so I wanted to chat before I got going," Emily said.

"Well, I can get her for you," Andy replied.

"Oh, no, don't worry about it! She told me you both had been busy with this case, so don't bother her," Emily said.

"It's no trouble," Andy said.

"What's no trouble?" Sharon said as she walked into the kitchen, still dressed in her robe and pajamas. "Good morning. Oh, I thought you were talking to Rusty," Sharon added as she looked around, a bit puzzled upon noticing no one in the room.

Sharon walked around the counter where she gave Andy a quick kiss and then noticed the computer was open.

"Emily! Hi sweetheart. I thought the guys were in here talking. I didn't realize you were calling," Sharon smiled and settled in leaning on the counter to talk to Emily.

"Hi Mom! It's good to see you, and I'm glad I caught you both. I wanted to introduce you to my boyfriend, Sean. He just came over to pick me up for the day. We have something planned-well, I don't know what it is. Sean said it's a surprise," Emily smiled at Sharon.

"Boyfriend? Why have we not heard of a boyfriend before now, Emily?" Sharon questioned as she looked at Andy to see if he had any idea about the boyfriend.

Andy shrugged and turned to Sharon, "I'm guessing that your daughter wanted to wait and introduce you to her boyfriend because she knew her mother was a master interrogator."

"Very true, Andy. Very true. You're not so bad yourself at interrogation. I've heard that you can grill Rusty pretty hard when prompted. Yes, Mom, this is Sean," Emily smiled as she moved over for Sean to join in the conversation.

"Hi Ma'am and Sir," Sean said nervously as he waved at the screen. "I want you to know how much I enjoy spending time with Emily. We've been friends a long time, and well, this is new, but it's not."

"Oh boy," Andy sighed and smirked. Sharon smacked his chest. "Ugh, hi, there Sean. Don't worry about the Ma'am and Sir bit. Captain and Lieutenant will do just fine."

"Andy!" Sharon said as she smacked him again in the chest. "Emily, thank you for introducing us to Sean. Sean, nice to meet you. Ignore him. Sharon and Andy are just fine, although I do wish we didn't have bed hair to first meet you. Emily, a little heads' up would have been nice," Sharon said as she shook her head.

"Well, Mom, I did want it to be a surprise, and I wasn't sure when I would see you next. Sean and I are really getting serious, so I wanted you to meet him. He's in advertising and works with our ballet company, so we do see each other sometimes at work," Emily smiled as she took Sean's hand.

"Hmm, sounds familiar," Andy said. "Friends first, work. Sounds like you two are doing well. Sean, we are glad to meet you and hope you are treating Emily well. Remember, we are both armed all the time."

"Haha, well, Sir, I mean, Andy, I would do anything for Emily. She's amazing," Sean smiled.

"Yes, she is," Sharon said. "Sean, I do hope we are going to be seeing and hearing more from you. You have an open invitation to visit with Emily anytime. We are hoping to get to New York sometime later this year to see Emily's production, so I know we will look forward to meeting you."

"So Mom, before we go, you said you wanted to tell me about something. What's up?" Emily asked as she settled back into Sean's arm now stretched around her back.

Nervously, Sharon glanced to Andy, "Oh, this is your show-your daughter. I already told mine," Andy smirked.

"Mom?" Emily questioned.

"Okay, so here's the deal. Andy and I got married," Sharon said flatly as she held up her wedding rings.

"YOU GOT MARRIED!" Emily yelled. "Mom, you didn't tell me. WHAT!"

Sighing, Sharon said, "Emily, can we please discuss this? Yes, we got married. We simply didn't want to wait."

Turning to Emily, Sean said, "Wow, and I thought we were going to get the third degree. This is awesome!"

"Listen here, Romeo," Andy pointed at the screen. "As officially her stepfather, watch it. Don't make me fly there and knock some sense into you. Treat her right," Andy said with a sly smile as he had to turn away from the screen to hopefully keep his death glare intact.

Sharon smacked Andy's chest again. "Don't scare the guy, Andy."

"Spousal abuse. I'm going on record with spousal abuse, and both of them witnessed it," Andy joked as he clutched his chest.

"Mom, I'm shocked. I'm not shocked you and Andy finally decided to get married. I'm shocked that you already got married. When was the wedding? When did you get engaged? Who was even there?" Emily began running through questions.

"Emily, we got engaged last Friday. Andy surprised me and proposed to me at work. We-"

"At work? Andy, really?" Emily questioned with a displeased look.

"Yes, Emily. Work. It was actually really perfect. He made it look like we had been called in on a middle of the night case, so I arrived at work where he was waiting in my office. We had discussed marriage before, and we knew we both wanted it, but he wanted to make it a surprise," Sharon smiled.

"So, after your mother agreed to put my out of my dating misery, we talked about waiting or getting married that weekend. Your mom has a judge friend in Northern California who agreed to marry us, and she helped me setup everything," Andy added.

"Emily, it was really special, and I know you are mad. Honey, this was something I wanted to do for me. I spent 30 years doing things to hopefully please your dad, and I needed to do this for me-for us. I hope you understand," Sharon said.

"Wow, Mom, I'm trying to understand. I'm still ticked you didn't tell us, didn't let us know about it sooner, and didn't think we'd be happy for you," Emily said.

"Oh honey, I didn't think that you wouldn't be happy. Really, we wanted something just for us. No one knew, not even Rusty," Sharon added.

"Well, I know you've sacrificed your entire adult life for Ricky, Rusty, and myself. Mom, I just want you to be happy. I'm not happy that you didn't tell me. I'm your daughter. Just think how you would feel if I did it to you. I'm really happy for you and Andy. Andy, you bring out the life in my mom again, and for that, I couldn't be more grateful. Both Ricky and I wondered for years if we would ever see Mom happy. When she transferred to Major Crimes, it didn't take long to hear 'Andy this and Andy that' so we both had a feeling you were special to her. I know it's taken years, but I am happy you two are together, Mom," Emily said.

"Em, I really am sorry you are hurt. I love your mom more than anything. Know I will continue to take care of her, and I want you to know that I love you, Ricky, and Rusty like my own kids. I know that Jack doesn't come through for you all the time, but know if you need anything, I'm there. That includes disposing of dirtbag boyfriends if needed," Andy smiled.

Chuckling, Sean said, "Believe me, Sir, I won't mess up!"

"Andy, thank you for that. Yes, I've spoken to you more these past few months than I have to Dad in the last few years. I have every confidence you will take care of Mom both at home and at work-"

"Hey, I can take care of myself! I'm still here," Sharon commented.

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Andy said. "Believe me, we all know that. I've been told that for years, and I won't forget it."

"Well, Mom, it's nice to have someone willing to take care of you. You know, your good friend, Andy, there has been willing to watch out for you for years," Emily teased.

"Stop. We will not get into that right now," Sharon pointed at Emily.

"What's going on?" Sean asked.

"Later, I'll tell you later. Let's just say that we weren't the only ones to start out as friends. Difference being that we acknowledged we were dating. If Mom wasn't now married, she might still say that Andy's just her friend-who lives with her-but just her friend," Emily smirked.

"Emily!" Sharon warned.

"Oh kiddo, you probably need to quit while you can. It's not often your secret news gets upstaged," Andy laughed.

"Definitely not," Emily agreed. "Mom, do Ricky and Rusty know?" Emily asked.

"Rusty-yes, Ricky-no. I have tried to call Ricky a few times this week. He never returned my calls. I sent him a text asking if he was busy this weekend and would have time for either a call or time to come and visit. His answer was, 'Maybe,;" Sharon said.

"Maybe what? Call or visit?" Emily asked.

"Hmmm, that is the question. I'm going to call him again around lunchtime after he wakes up. If you remember, Ricky isn't a morning person, especially on weekends after working so long," Sharon stated.

"Yes, I definitely remember. Well, I don't have to guess that I will hear from him when he finds out. I won't tell him, BUT you still didn't show me your ring properly," Emily said.

Sharon held up her hand to the screen. "Andy did a good job. He surprised me, and he bought a beautiful ring," Sharon smiled.

"Nice move, stepdad, on the ring. Even more impressive you outsmarted the Captain," Emily smiled.

"Yeah, thanks, Em. It wasn't easy, but I did pull one over on her," Andy added.

"Well, Mom, Andy, we are going to get going with our day. This was NOT how I saw the conversation playing out this morning. I guess I'm relieved because your news definitely took Sean and me off the hot seat. We will talk more, later, okay?" Emily asked.

"Sweetheart, of course. Thank you for trusting us to meet Sean. Sean, it was nice to meet you," Sharon said.

"Nice to meet both of you, and I must say that I've never met anyone's parents with this kind of story before," Sean said.

"Such a comedian," Andy smirked. "Sean, take care of our girl, please."

"Andy, thank you for that. Take care of Mom and yourself," Emily smiled.

The call disconnected, and Sharon turned to Andy, "She has a boyfriend!"

"That's your reply? No comment about her reaction to our news?" Andy questioned.

"No, what was she going to say? She loves you, and she knows you love me. She might be mad for awhile, but Andy, this is great. She has a nice, hopefully decent boyfriend. We're becoming the old married couple already. It's about the kids' relationships now," Sharon smiled.

"Such a comedian, yourself. Now, let's get some coffee. I really need it, especially if we are going to get through this party tonight," Andy said as he turned to get two mugs from the cupboard.

"Well, three down and two to go," Sharon smiled as she accepted her fresh cup of coffee.


	10. Chapter 10

Saturday afternoon found Sharon and Andy tired. They'd spent the morning cleaning the house to get ready for the party. Since they had been out of town the weekend before getting married, the house needed a good clean.

"How is it that we get married and are hosting our own party at our own house?" Andy questioned Sharon as he put the last of the buckets and cleaning supplies away.

"He's your friend, and on some level he's right. Don't' tell him that; I will deny it. We need to do something nice to celebrate with our friends. They are happy for us," Sharon commented.

"Yeah, well, they could be happy for us with a few pizzas as far as I'm concerned," Andy said as he sat down on the couch, tired.

"Well," Sharon said as she sat down next to Andy, "you have to admit. We didn't tell people ahead of time, and while everyone has been pretty good about the news, it is a shock. Provenza wasn't wrong in saying the team has watched all of this unfold, but I do beg to differ-I, for one, didn't let it show at work."

"HA! Are you serious? You'd have to be the worst detective ever to not see you flirt with me. I know I flirted with you, and I'm proud of it. But you-the skirts, the shoes, the gentle arm pats, the eyes-oh your eyes-you can melt me with that one look in your eyes," Andy said smiling.

"What look?" Sharon glared at Andy.

"Not that one; most definitely not that one. That's your Darth glare. You know the one; the 'I'm hopelessly in love with my lieutenant and don't even know how to control my emotions' look," Andy joked as he put his arm around Sharon.

"I most certainly do not have a look like that," Sharon said as she swatted Andy's chest. "That's the 'Flynn in love look' if I have ever seen one. Honestly, you couldn't be more obvious," Sharon said.

"Yeah, well, takes one to know one. Go ahead-call it the 'Flynn in love look.' You're now a Flynn," Andy smiled at Sharon.

"Oh, you're impossible," Sharon said as she stood up. "I'm going to try and call Ricky again. Did you get in touch with Charlie yet?"

Sighing, Andy replied, "No, I haven't been able to get ahold of him. Besides the both of us trying to call him on Thursday, I tried again yesterday morning, and then this morning. I left him a message and asked him to call. He'll eventually call me back, but you know, he's not the best at being prompt on messages."

"Yes, I remember from your accident. After I finally got ahold of him, he kept apologizing about not returning my calls sooner. Well, what's done is done. We'll get ahold of the boys sometime this weekend. Now, it's 2:00. The party starts at 4:00, and we both need to get cleaned up. What if-" Sharon started to say as she was interrupted.

"Hey mom, Andy! We've got a carload full of food," Rusty said as he entered the house.

"Okay, why don't you go get cleaned up first while I direct Rusty and Gus with the food, and then when you finish, I'll get ready?" Sharon said.

"Well, not your best idea, but it will have to do," Andy joked as he headed toward the bathroom.

Sharon helped the guys unload the food and directed them to the setup. After she showed them where she wanted everything, she delegated the jobs that needed to be done before the party. Upon her inspection, Gus and Rusty had done well. The food looked great, and from Rusty's receipt, it hadn't cost Sharon and Andy too much.

"Gus, Rusty, this looks wonderful! Thank you both for doing all of this. I'm impressed that you didn't spend more than $360 to get all of this food! A caterer would have charged so much more. Gus, this is amazing!" Sharon exclaimed!

"Well, anything for you Sharon. You and Andy have been so good to me. The least I could do was to prepare some nice foods for you, and when you know how to cook like I do now, it's easy to make some great things in a decent budget," Gus smiled as he spoke to Sharon.

"I'm very impressed, Gus. Thank you. I'm sure everyone will love the food," Sharon said looking around. Gus, didn't you say that you made us a cake? I don't' see it."

"Oh, yeah, that, umm, I did. It's not quite done yet. I have to finish it," Gus said as he quickly made himself appear busy. "I'll finish it in a few minutes."

"Well, I can't wait to see it," Sharon smiled. "Rusty, thank you for going to the store this morning. My credit card thanks you for not going crazy with the costs too."

"Sure, Mom. I was glad to do it. It's not everyday your adopted mom runs off with her boyfriend of three years, who is also her subordinate to get married without telling anyone," Rusty smirked.

"You know, I'm going to just ignore your comments, today, Russell. I'm going to enjoy my party," Sharon smiled. "On that note, I'm going to get ready. I'll send Andy out to help."

Gus and Rusty continued with their food preparation. Sharon had asked about the cake. Gus had made one. Cakes weren't his specialty, but he could make them. He wasn't specialized in desserts, but he had helped the pastry chef before, and this was a pretty simple wedding cake of sorts. He chuckled thinking about the surprise with the cake; he hoped Sharon and Andy liked it. Time would tell.

Before they all knew it, it was 4:00, and the party guests were due at any point. The party was going to be a bit bigger than they had expected. Once they started talking through their guest list of friends from work, they realized it was a good thing they had a bigger house. They also realized they were glad they had gone off and gotten married. Both Sharon and Andy agreed that maybe Patrice had a great idea last year with just wanting her wedding to be a small affair. This party would be mostly their friends from work, but anything more would have been a headache.

"Sharon, did everyone tell you they were coming?" Andy asked as he turned on some light background music.

"I believe so. Nicole and Dean are coming with the boys, which we knew. From work, I think the whole team is coming. Amy is bringing Lt. Cooper. Of course Provenza is bringing Patrice, and Mike is bringing Kathy. Neither Buzz nor Julio mentioned anyone extra, but I didn't expect them to bring anyone. Chief Howard and Brenda are coming, but they will be late. Brenda had something she had to be at for work. Dr. Morales is coming if he's not called into the morgue. Andrea said she would be here, but Gavin is still out of town. He's mad that I didn't tell him. Somehow word even spread to Judge Grove and Judge Richwood. Both said they hoped to come if they didn't have other plans. I don't know how they found out so quickly," Sharon contemplated.

Chuckling, Andy commented, "Well, as much as he tried to play the mad cop, I think Provenza is really happy for us. I think he started letting friends of yours know."

"Oh, that partner of yours. He's got a big heart, even if he doesn't want people to know," Sharon smiled.

The doorbell interrupted their conversation.

"Okay, showtime, and by the way, sweetheart, you in that cream lace dress-you look amazing," Andy smiled.

Kissing him on the cheek as she walked to the door, Sharon whispered, "Well, it's supposed to be a wedding reception of sorts. I had to look the part."

"Oh, believe me, you look stunning," Andy said as he followed Sharon to the door.

The guests all arrived within a few minutes of each other. Most brought some sort of gift-be it flowers, an expensive wine for Sharon, or an actual wrapped gift. Patrice and Provenza were among the last to arrive.

"Flynn, where's the food?" Provenza said as he pushed open the door, past Andy and Sharon who both looked at each other.

"Seriously, Provenza? Doesn't Patrice feed you?" Andy said as he turned to see Patrice entering the house.

"Patrice, hello. It's so nice to see you, smiled Sharon as she went to embrace Patrice.

"Sharon, I am so happy for you both. I couldn't believe it when Louie told me. He wouldn't tell you this, but between you and me, he was so excited, he could barely contain himself," Patrice smiled.

Laughing, Sharon said to Patrice, "You know, Andy said the same thing to me about Louie. That husband of yours has a really tender heart-even if he doesn't want anyone to know."

"You are right about that. Under the tough exterior is a teddy bear," Patrice said. "I must apologize now. I have no idea what he has planned, but he said he had a surprise for you both and couldn't wait to eat the food."

Andy had followed Provenza further inside the house and spotted him already at the food.

"Really, you came here just for the food?" Andy asked. "What's going on with you, Provenza?"

"Nothing, Flynn, nothing. This is what I do at all of my weddings-eat. I guess that's why I liked getting married so much. Why would yours be any different?" Provenza said as he stuffed a shrimp into his mouth.

Andy started chuckling as Sharon walked up to rejoin him. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"I'll tell you later," Andy said. "Let's enjoy our friends."

The party continued with everyone enjoying Sharon and Andy's home. Most of the team hadn't been to their new house yet, at least not for any sort of party. The doors to the backyard were open, which gave an amazing view of the pool. With the beautiful weather, it was a perfect day for a party. Gus' food was a big hit too; he really could have a career in catering if he chose.

As Sharon was looking around at everything, it dawned on her that the cake hadn't made an appearance yet. She mentioned it to Andy, who also glanced around. When neither of them saw it, Sharon went to find Gus and see if it was ready.

Gus and Rusty were talking to Amy and Cooper when Sharon asked to speak to Gus. "Gus, I didn't see the cake. Is it ready?"

"Oh yeah, Sharon, it's done. Sorry. I wasn't sure if you were ready for it yet," Gus replied.

"Well, I think we are. Gus, the food is wonderful. Everyone is really enjoying it. Yes, let's get the cake ready," Sharon smiled.

"Okay, well, I'm really glad you liked the food. Can I just say something about the cake?" Gus inquired, a bit nervous.

"Gus, why do I have a feeling something is wrong with the cake?" Sharon glared.

"Nothing is wrong with it, per say. Let's just say that when you told me all of the food was in my hands-well, the cake wasn't exactly my idea. It should taste wonderful. I'm just not sure you will like it," Gus replied sheepishly.

Sighing, Sharon said, "Gus what did you do to the cake?"

"What's wrong with the cake?" Andy asked as he walked up and put his arm around Sharon's waist.

"Andy, I was just telling Sharon that the cake should taste really good. I did make it, but when you told me that all of the food was up to me-well, someone else asked if they could help with the cake," Gus stated.

"Gus, let us see the cake," Sharon said, with now an edge in her tone.

"Ok, okay. PLEASE know that I love both of you like family, and that I was basically forced into this," Gus said. "Police brutality if you ask me."

"Gus, WHO asked you about the cake?" Andy inquired.

"Well, these persons asked to remain nameless," Gus said, to which Andy started chuckling.

"Great, just great. I have my ideas," Andy said. "Gus-the cake?"

Gus took Sharon and Andy to the kitchen to show them the cake. The rest of the party guests noticed the commotion, to which Provenza started snapping his fingers.

"Everyone, it's cake time!" Provenza said happily. "Buzz, do you have your camera ready? These pictures will need to go on The Facebook and The Twitter."

"Louie, why are you so excited about the cake?" Patrice said.

"Oh, my darling, you'll see," Provenza said with a smile. "Julio, did you get everything to Gus for the cake?"

"Yes, sir, I did. He was a little confused about the cake instructions, but after I explained it all, he thought it was pretty funny. He did agree that the Captain definitely wouldn't find it funny. Rusty thought it was funny too, and I know the Lieutenant will like it," Julio smiled.

Both Judge Grove and Judge Richwood were chuckling at the comments flying around the team.

"I don't know what you did to the cake, but you had better be glad Sharon is really good about not mixing business with pleasure," Judge Grove said to Provenza.

"Oh, this, this started with Flynn," Provenza smiled.

As this, the group was interrupted with Sharon yelling out, "Oh my goodness! What is that?"

Provenza started laughing, and with that, Julio, Buzz and Tao started snickering too.

"Whatever is going on, I just have to say that you all should be ashamed of yourselves," Patrice scolded to the group laughing.

"What did you do to their cake, Lieutenant?" Morales asked. "On second thought, I don't want to know yet."

While the group was discussing the cake, both Sharon and Andy walked out of the kitchen. Sharon looked mortified, and Andy was smirking while trying not to smile.

"Everyone, the cake is ready. Lieutenant, I guess I have you to thank for the cake idea?" Sharon smiled at Provenza with a death glare in her smile.

"Oh Captain, I haven't seen the cake yet. Why would you assume I had anything to do with it?" Provenza smiled back.

At that, Gus and Rusty carried out the cake. Everyone in the room turned to see just what was wrong with the cake.

"I don't get it," Amy said, looking puzzled at Cooper.

"Ha! Even I heard about this," Cooper said. "I just can't believe they went through with the idea."

The cake was put down on the table, and the guys moved away from it. Everyone turned to see the two-tiered cake there, waiting to be cut. The cake did look beautiful, very detailed. That was part of the problem. The cake was covered with a yellow brick road pattern of fondant icing going up the side of one tier onto the side of the other tier. The yellow brick road ended on the top of the cake where a witch stood-holding a very tiny fondant broom- with a money at her side. On the side of the cake, a small fondant house was placed, sideways, as if it had been in a tornado.

"Oh my!" Patrice exclaimed. "Louie you didn't."

"Gus, amazing job," Julio said and then started to laugh. He turned away from the group to hide his laughter. At that, Tao started laughing too.

Sharon was standing there glaring at her team, while Andy, who had been trying to control his laughter, finally couldn't with the rest of the team laughing.

"Andy, this isn't funny!" Sharon exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Yes, it is," Andy said.

"Captain, he started the whole 'Wizard of Oz' thing," Provenza said. "I couldn't just ignore it. He drew the figures on the board first. I just added the broom, which Gus so nicely recreated," Provenza said happily. "Who knew then that the witch would get the desk monkey as her sidekick."

"Grandma Sharon, why is there a witch and monkey on the cake?" Tommy asked.

"Well, you see, Tommy, Grandpa and Grandma have a little joke about the 'Wizard of Oz' and our friends made us a cake to go along with it," Andy said as he picked up Tommy.

"Captain, Flynn's officially your problem now. You married him-without any of us to see it. So, you're welcome. I thought you needed some help designing the cake. Enjoy," Provenza said as he took a small bow and backed away from the cake.

"Well, this certainly wasn't what I was expecting," Sharon commented as she tried to school her features. Truth be told, she really wanted to laugh too, but she didn't want to give Provenza the satisfaction. Gus had designed a beautiful cake, but she wouldn't tell anyone that-well, maybe Andy later-but for now, she had to look ticked about the cake.

"Let's get some pictures, maybe?" Amy suggested to break the ice.

The team gathered around as they took some pictures of Sharon and Andy, some with Sharon and Andy, and some with Sharon, Andy and Nicole's family. After all of this, the group was ready to cut the cake. As they were about to do that, they heard the door open. Expecting it to be Chief Howard and Brenda, Sharon went to the door to welcome them.

"Oh my goodness! What are you doing here?" Andy heard Sharon say from the front door. He quickly moved past the group to assess the situation.

"Hi Mom!" Ricky said. "What's going on here? We saw a lot of cars, so hopefully we aren't interrupting anything."

"We?" Sharon looked around Ricky, but the door was closed.

"Umm, yeah, oh hey Andy," Ricky said as he put out his hand to shake Andy's.

"Ricky, good to see you," Andy returned the handshake. Before Andy could say anything more, the door opened and Andy's eyes got larger. "Charlie! What are you doing here?"

"Ricky, Charlie-what is going on?" Sharon asked.

"Mom, Andy,-Charlie and I were texting back and forth the other day when he asked me if I'd talked to you this week. Since we all were here last Christmas, the two of us hang out sometimes. We don't' live that far from each other, and well, we can each be a good wingman for the other when looking for a date. I told him I hadn't spoken to you yet, but you'd been trying to call me. He said that Andy had been trying to do the same thing. So, since I finished my project a day early, I told Charlie I was thinking of driving down here to visit you and see what was up. Charlie said he wasn't busy, so he picked me up on the way. Here we are. Are we interrupting something?" Ricky asked.

Sharon and Andy glanced at each other and then back at their boys.

"I'm so glad to see you," Sharon said as she hugged Ricky and then Charlie. Andy followed behind Sharon with a quick pat on the back to both boys. "Come in. We have a lot to tell you."


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you for all the great reviews! I'm glad so many are enjoying this story. It's not quite over yet...enjoy!

As the four were starting to make their way toward the living room, Charlie looked back and commented, "Wow, Sharon, you look fantastic. You lucky dog, old man," he smirked to his dad.

"Dude, that's my mom," Ricky piped up.

"Charlie, show some respect towards Sharon," Andy chimed in, "although, you are right. She does look gorgeous," as he turned toward Sharon and smiled.

Sharon rolled her eyes, "Well, there's that Flynn charm I keep talking about."

Andy smirked and commented, "Well, like I told you-"

Before they could get any further, two quick movements stopped the group.

"Uncle Charlie, Uncle Ricky!" Tommy and Matthew came running and flung themselves at Charlie and Ricky.

"Hey guys," Ricky said as he ruffled the boys' hair. "I didn't know you were here."

"Tommy, what's up? Are you spending the afternoon with Grandpa and Sharon?" Charlie asked.

"Yes! We're having a party," Matthew jumped up and down, happily. "There's cake. Come and get some cake. Uncle Rusty even put some ice cream with my cake."

"Wait-what a party. Dad, Sharon, what did we walk in on? Is this something for work, but wait, Nicole's here? Oh, man, I am so sorry! We can totally go somewhere else for awhile," Charlie said.

As Charlie was sandwiched between the two boys, Ricky heard voices and peaked down the hall to the living room.

"Mom, seriously, it looks like a lot of your friends are here. I see some judges. What's going on?" Ricky asked.

"Ricky, Charlie, we've been trying to tell you-" Sharon started to say.

"Come get some of the wedding cake," Tommy yelled as he pulled Charlie by the arm.

"Wait, what? Wedding cake?" Ricky stopped and turned to look at Andy and Sharon.

"Mom, why do you have a guilty expression on your face, and wedding cake-what? Mom, no, did you get married today? Oh man, is that why you were trying to call us? You two got married today and didn't even have your sons there? Ivory dress-Mom, you did, didn't you" Ricky started yelling as he looked back and forth between Sharon and Andy.

At this, all of the party guests turned toward the commotion now just outside the entrance to the living room. It was hard not to hear everything going on, and many of the guests just started shaking their heads.

"Oh, this is why I wanted a party-good food and a show," Provenza said as he went over, found a seat on the couch, and sat down, looking satisfied.

"Louie, honestly," Patrice said as she swatted at Provenza's leg.

"Who is that?" Cooper whispered to Sykes.

Amy, who was closest to the hallway, took a small step to get a view of the hallway. She leaned back toward Cooper, whispering, "Looks like their kids. Ricky for sure, but I can't see the other one by Lt. Flynn. I think maybe his son too."

"Mommy, Uncle Charlie is here!" Matthew came running into the room towards Nicole. "I told him to have some wedding cake."

Nicole too Matthew's hand and walked toward the hallway, "Dad, is Charlie really here? I'm so glad you got in touch with him about getting married! Why didn't you tell me he was coming?"

At this the group arrived in the living room to see the household of guests seated and standing around.

"Um, Charlie, Ricky, here's the deal. Yes, we got married," Andy started to say.

Sharon just started to shake her head, feeling completely embarrassed. This was not how things were supposed to go with ANY of their kids.

"Alright that's enough! I've about had it with these two idiots this week. Well, actually, I've about had it with these two idiots in love for the past three years. Charlie-good to see you. Raydor Spawn-Ricky-good to see you too. Your idiot parents, and yes, I can call them that and you will probably agree with me-got engaged last week without telling anyone. They proceeded to drive up the coast to a friend of the Captain's who married them, and then they came home and didn't tell anyone for days. Congratulations, you're now brothers," Provenza said in exasperation.

"Provenza, really?" Andy looked at him annoyed.

"Okay yes, it's out there. We did all of that. Yes, we got engaged, and yes, we went up north and got married. We've been trying to call you boys all week, and neither of you would return our calls," Sharon said with an edge to her voice as she turned to look at both boys.

"Wait, Charlie, you didn't come here for the party?" Nicole asked.

"We came here-" Charlie started to say, but was interrupted by Ricky.

"Mom, you two drove up north and got married? You didn't have your kids there? Charlie and I LIVE up north, both of us. Hello? You didn't think to let us know. Oh man, does Emily know?" Ricky asked as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Dude, I live with the said idiot parents, and they didn't even tell me!" Rusty chimed in.

"Surprise?" Sharon smiled weakly at both Ricky and Charlie.

The party guests all started to take seats to watch the family saga unfold. Many thought that Provenza had been right; it was entertaining to watch the two try to explain to their kids what they had been thinking. All the while, Tommy and Matthew, going unnoticed, moved back over to the food table, where they started taking big swipes of the frosting with their fingers and eating it.

"Matthew, Tommy, don't eat the cake like that," Dean scolded as he ran over and pulled the boys from the cake.

That got everyone laughing and helped to break the ice. Both boys were covered in icing. They had it all over the face, and because they had it on their hands, they started wiping it on their shirts, pants, and even the table.

"What is that?" Ricky asked as he pointed to the cake.

"Gee, here I thought with a detective for a parent, you might pick up on a few things," Julio chuckled.

"Yeah, well, obviously it's a cake, but what is on the cake?" Ricky asked as he then walked over to inspect the cake.

"Uncle Charlie, come see the cartoon cake," Matthew said as he pulled Charlie to the table.

"Cartoon cake-Mom, is this…is this a Wizard of Oz cake?" Ricky asked looking questioning at Sharon.

"Umm, yeah, that would be my doing," Gus said as he stepped toward the table.

"Gus, really? What's up with the cake," Ricky turned and asked Gus.

Sharon and Andy both sighed, looking at each other. Andy smiled at Sharon and took her hand, "Well, we wanted the kids to all get along. At least they do."

Smiling back, Sharon said, "Yes, this is family-messy and all. Lieutenant, would you care to explain to our boys the meaning behind your cake?"

Both Charlie and Ricky turned to Provenza, where he happily recounted the events leading up to the cake. Both boys found the explanation to be really funny, and soon, the whole party was laughing again.

"Wizard of Oz. That's a good one. I hadn't heard that story. I've always just heard about Darth Raydor. That's always been my favorite, but this, this is a close second. Well, it looks like my nephews had the right idea. I'm starving. I want some cake," Ricky smiled as he went to his mom.

"Mom, I really wish you would have told me you were getting married. I would have been there, and you didn't have to hide it from me. I know you aren't getting back together with Dad. I'm glad you found someone who makes you happy. You didn't have to run off. I would have been there. I would have given you away, but it's cool. I get it. You wanted something for yourself, and you haven't done much for yourself for a very long time," Ricky told Sharon as he gave her a hug.

"Please! Save the drama for Dr. Phil!" Provenza huffed as he got up. "If those little gremlins didn't ruin all of the cake, I would like a big piece, maybe two."

Everyone started laughing, and as they all got up to get cake, Rusty and Gus cutting more pieces to hand out. Matthew and Tommy had been given some when the party had been interrupted by the arrival of Charlie and Ricky.

As the cake was being passed around, everyone began coming over to the two newcomers to welcome them and chat with them. Things were getting back on track.

"Yoohoo! We're here!" everyone heard from the front door.

"Oh, here we go again," Andy muttered as he stood with his hand on Sharon's back.

Sharon sighed herself, "Well, at least she'll like the cake."

Brenda and Fritz walked into the living room and took a quick glance around, "Oh, it's so good to see everyone! It's been way too long. Fritzy has been telling me about all of you, and I'm just so glad to be here-never thought I'd see the day we'd be celebrating Andy and Sharon together. That was a shock, but congratulations to you both," Brenda said as she walked over and hugged Andy.

"Sharon, congratulations," Brenda said as she awkwardly hugged Sharon.

"Thank you, Brenda. We're glad you could make it. I believe you know most everyone here, with maybe the exception of our kids. Please make yourself at home and have some food," Sharon smiled at Brenda. "Glad you could make it, Chief," Sharon commented over Brenda's shoulder to Fritz.

"Thank you for inviting us. What a lovely party. Andy,-" Fritz was interrupted.

"Lands' sakes! Who did the cake?" Brenda interrupted everyone. "A Wizard of Oz cake! Oh, this reminds me of that case where Andy started drawing that picture of Sharon as the Wicked Witch and-"

"Brenda!" Fritz interrupted.

Laughing, Provenza stood up and walked over to Brenda, "Chief, you always were a sharp one. Yes, that's the reason behind the cake. I'd like to call it my gift to these two idiots. We've had to watch the soap opera unfold the last several years. Never say never-that's what I've learned. Who would have thought-"

"Yes, who would have thought that Provenza would finally find a decent lady to marry him," Andy snarled as he was starting to get agitated. "Chief, a lot has changed."

"Well, duh, I mean, I about choked on my Ding Dong when Fritz told me we were coming to a wedding reception for you two. It was shocking enough when he told me awhile ago y'all were dating. I never thought you'd actually like each other."

Sharon walked up to Andy and grabbed his hand, fingers interlocking. She looked up at him and decided then and there, she didn't care. She usually kept things private, but these were her friends and family in her home. She leaned up and placed a deep kiss on Andy's lips.

"I love him. Plain and simple," Sharon smiled as she looked at Andy. "Let's have some cake. We are all here this afternoon to enjoy this party. It's had its ups and downs, but let's enjoy the rest of it!"

The party continued with the guests having their cake. A big section of the cake, void of frosting, was cut and put on a to-go platter for Nicole and Dean. The boys had eaten a huge chunk of frosting off the cake, but no one cared anymore. Provenza was seen refilling his plate over and over, happy to have the free food.

Both Ricky and Charlie seemed to be over the shock of their parents' news and were now talking to their parents' friends. Sharon and Andy had finally found a chance to sit down and were now sitting on the patio with Patrice, Kathy, Mike, Amy, Cooper, Andrea, and Fritz. Both judges had left, saying it was the most interesting party they had been at in a very long time. The boys had brought their swimsuits and were in the pool with the adults watching them. Nicole, Dean, Ricky, Rusty, Gus, Buzz, Brenda, Julio, Morales, and Provenza were all huddled together inside.

"What are they talking about?" Andy turned toward Sharon, nudging her to look inside.

"I don't know. It can't be good. Provenza is in the middle of it, and they've even recruited the kids and Brenda. Patrice, do you have any idea?" Sharon asked.

Sighing, Patrice said, "Sharon, I honestly don't know what he has planned, but I know he has something planned."

"Oh boy," Andy muttered.

"Mike, what are they doing?" Sharon turned, almost interrogating Mike.

"No idea, Captain. They asked me if I could help with their plan, but I was really busy with 'Badge of Justice' this week, so I don't' know what they are doing," Mike recounted.

"Oh my-Really? Mike, you had to ruin this afternoon and bring up Badge again?" Andy whined. "Badge, Badge, Badge. Why do-"

Andy stopped talking as he glanced at Sharon who was glaring at him.

"Why don't you tell me all about it later?" Andy smiled at Sharon as he looked toward Mike. "I mean, I don't want to ruin Provenza's plan."

Sharon patted Andy on the arm, glad that she had diffused the "Badge" situation. Andy's irritation with the show was comical to her, but she liked it even more that she could get Andy to retract his comments with just a glare.

"Okay, people. Listen up," Provenza said as he clapped his hands together. "We have something to show all of you, but you have to come inside. You won't want to miss it."


	12. Chapter 12

Again, a HUGE thank you to everyone! I had no idea the direction this story would take. I hope this ending is one that everyone enjoys. Some of it just seemed to develop as I wrote it.

The group all made their way inside, per Provenza's request. Gus quickly volunteered to sit on the patio and watch Matthew and Tommy in the pool.

"I figure I've dug myself a deep enough hole today with the cake," Gus said sheepishly. "I'm going to stay out of the crossfire and hang out with the boys."

As Gus retreated outside, Sharon and Andy glanced at each other as they walked inside. Andy had his arm on Sharon's escorting her.

"See, this is why we shouldn't have had a party," Andy complained. "How is it that we are being ushered around in our own home and not even allowed to enjoy our own grandkids? Provenza, what is going on?"

"Sit down, Flynn. We've all waited for this for years; you can sit and listen for a few minutes. Lord knows you haven't listened to me about anything regarding the Captain since she set foot in Major Crimes, but you are going to listen to me now," Provenza said sharply as he pointed to the couch for Andy and Sharon to sit.

"Now," Provenza said clapping his hands together, "Captain, Flynn, we are all here today to celebrate your crazy wedding idea. Several of us have been conspiring about this for a long time, and well, you had to go and ruin it with your little coastal wedding. Well, we couldn't NOT follow through with our plans, so here we go. We have a few things for you. This would come from those who choose to remain unnamed."

Sharon groaned and put her head in her hands, while Andy patted her knee. They were in this together, and hopefully, if they let Provenza get this out of his system, things at work and even here at home right now, could return to normal.

"Captain, first off, we'd like to give you something. This should definitely bring back memories to you, and well, we know it holds a special place in the lieutenant's heart. Personally, speaking for the department, I developed a TON of respect for you with this," Julio said as he presented Sharon with a wrapped gift. "Ma'am, this is for you."

Both Sharon and Andy had confused looks on their faces. What on Earth could the team be giving them? They broke their gazes to each other, and Sharon accepted the wrapped gift.

"Julio, what is this?" Andy asked.

"Well, Idiot #1, it's a gift. Your wife needs to open it," Provenza grumbled.

"Louie! Be polite! That is your best friend and his wife-who is also a dear friend of yours, even if you don't want to admit it," Patrice snapped at Provenza.

Snickering could be heard around the room, and Sharon started to unwrap the gift.

As the contents inside started to become visible, Andy, who was watching over Sharon's shoulder, started to chuckle. "Oh my-really? Are you serious?"

Sharon, still a bit confused, finished unwrapping the gift. "Umm, I'm not quite sure what to say."

"Sharon, they stole that out of my desk! That's the beanbag, and they had it put in a shadow box frame!" Andy exclaimed.

"Yes, sir, to put on display. That was an awesome shot," Julio said with a smile.

"Andy, wait….you have had the beanbag in your desk from that shooting years ago? How have I not seen it?" Sharon asked.

"Andy, seriously, you still have that thing?" Brenda commented. "Sharon, I do have to admit, they couldn't stop talking about that in the Murder Room. Now, they didn't say a word when you were there, but as soon as you left the room, they were all so impressed with that shot. Andy, I can't believe you kept it," Brenda commented.

"Yeah, well, it was pretty hot. I mean, standing there like that, perfect aim, and a hit right between the eyes. Best thing I've seen in a long time," Andy smirked.

"Eeew, really, do we have to hear that," Rusty complained.

"Guys, this is great. I can't believe you dug it out of my drawer. Sharon, I've kept it hidden in the back of my drawer forever, well since it happened. At first, I couldn't bear the thought of you knowing I had kept it, and honestly, the last couple years, I just forgot it was there. I've been too busy," Andy smiled.

"Yeah, busy chasing her," Julio chimed in.

"Well, I must say, this is quite a surprise. Thank you, although, it seems like Andy has the love affair with this beanbag," Sharon smirked.

"Oh, it's not for the beanbag, but for its owner. Yeah, that was hot. Still can see that image to this day. I'll never forget you taking that shot," Andy smiled as he gave Sharon a sweet kiss.

"Dad, kids in the room, come on!" Charlie interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah, you came to visit. Deal with the consequences," Andy waved off as he kissed Sharon again.

"Okay, break it up Romeo," Provenza said. "We're not done."

"This next gift," Julio added, "was created over time, and it involved a lot of people. Mostly, you have Buzz to thank for this."

"Hey! I thought we were remaining nameless," Buzz grumbled.

"Well Buzz, it won't take a detective to figure out who put most of this together," Julio said. "For this, we need to use your television."

"Our television?" Sharon repeated. "Fine, go ahead. What did you create, Buzz?"

"I'd like to go on record, Captain, that you've been a great boss, and I would still like to continue working in Major Crimes. Now, remember, this came from several sources, and I know that if interrogated, I would crack under pressure," Buzz smiled sympathetically.

"Buzz, save the drama. Just show us, please. Some of us are aging while sitting here," Andy replied with a bit of irritation in his tone.

Sharon patted Andy's arm and smiled at him. Oh, what her smile could do. It could diffuse him instantly, and it did once again. He relaxed and sat back against the couch, pulling Sharon with him. As she sat back, he put his arm around her, "Well, might as well get comfortable, hmm?" Andy asked.

"Indeed. Buzz, what do you have to show us," Sharon asked as Buzz was cueing up their television.

"Just a moment, Captain. I know that when I came over and setup your tv surround sound and everything, there was a trick to it. I just have to remember what I did," Buzz said as he finished getting everything ready. "There, all set. Everyone, get comfortable."

The room suddenly filled up with everyone finding a seat to watch the mysterious well-whatever it was-on the television. A lot of people, a lot of time…Sharon and Andy were both intrigued, but looking around, no one else seemed to be. It appeared that the rest of the room at least had an idea of what was coming.

The movie, if that was what you could call it, came on the screen with background music playing. People instantly started laughing with the music because it appeared their party guests had taken the "theme" of the party to another level.

"Really, the Wicked Witch music from 'Wizard of Oz' Buzz-Really? This is my wife, and YOUR boss!"

"Andy," Sharon said, almost laughing, "let's see what they have done."

The paused music was started again, and the title of the movie came up: Our Favorite Wicked Witch and her Flying Monkey" but the title was completely in tune with the picture that appeared on the screen. Sharon couldn't help but start laughing. "Oh my goodness, I can't believe you have that picture."

On the screen, to coordinate with the music, was a picture of Sharon and Andy, dressed in Halloween costumes, costumes nonetheless that were from the "Wizard of Oz." They had taken Tommy and Matthew trick-or-treating two years ago and gone as a Wizard of Oz theme. Sharon had been the Wicked Witch and while Andy hadn't been the monkey, he'd gone as the Scarecrow.

"Hey, that's the year the boys were obsessed with animals! Tommy wanted to be a monkey for Halloween, and Matthew wanted to be a lion. Nicole came up with the idea to coordinate their costumes with the "Wizard of Oz," Andy said as he smiled. "That was two years ago, already?"

"Yes, dad, it was. When Provenza told me about his plans for the cake, I let it slip that I had these Halloween pictures. He had no idea about that Halloween, even though I thought for sure I'd sent him the pictures. I know I plastered them on Facebook," Nicole smiled.

"Well, I just recently started keeping up with The Facebook and The Instagram. I was excited I was able to download them correctly," Provenza smiled.

"Almost correctly," Buzz added. "You actually sent them in a group Facebook message, and I'm just glad you sent it to Nicole and me and not to someone else."

Sharon started laughing at that, and she looked back at the paused show. "Okay, I'm sorry, but that's really funny. Coordinating the music with the picture. Buzz, that does deserve a pat on the back."

"Thanks, Captain. Now, if we can, it's a show, and there's plenty more," Buzz added as he continued to play the movie.

As the movie continued, it became very obvious the group, the entire group, had been in on this gift of sorts. The group as a whole had collected countless pictures of Sharon and Andy together-some with the two of them, some with the kids, and some with the team. The pictures weren't all recent. Some dated back years.

"How in the world did you get a picture of me at a crime scene, Buzz?" Sharon asked as she turned to Buzz. Buzz paused the movie once again.

"Well, Captain, remember that I always have my camera at crime scenes. I always also have my phone for pictures. You don't come to many crime scenes, but you used to. At first, I didn't realize that I would ever use these pictures for something like this, but a few years ago now, we started talking in the office about keeping a 'Flynn in Love' file and sending all the coordinating pictures to that file," Buzz added.

"BUZZ! You weren't supposed to tell them that!" Provenza jumped up glaring at him. "What is this world coming to? We can't keep anything a secret?"

"Flynn in love file? WHAT is that," Sharon glared as most of the room erupted in laughter.

"Well, ma'am, just what it sounds…pictures of you and Lieutenant Flynn in love…in the office," Julio smiled.

Sharon turned to Andy, "Did you know about this?"

"No, of course not. Well, not the pictures. Yes, I knew I was in love with you years ago," Andy smiled.

Sharon scoffed and turned back toward the group. "Okay, still why do you have pictures of me at a crime scene?"

"If I may," Morales added, "I don't go to crime scenes either, but Kendall and I have been talking about the flirting between you two for years. Yeah, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you flirt at crime scenes."

"What? I do not flirt…" Sharon started but was interrupted.

"Oh mom, watch how you finish that statement," Ricky jumped in. "I distinctly remember you and the dancing Santa crime scene when we were all home for Christmas a few years ago. Yeah, you were flirting. It was obvious."

"Richard William Raydor…if you want a place to sleep tonight," Sharon pointed at Ricky.

"You can sleep at our house," Nicole jumped in. "Sharon, it's okay. You were just friends, right?" Nicole smirked as she added that part.

"Nicole, I am shocked. Here, I thought you were my favorite stepdaughter, and well, not anymore," Sharon added as she slumped back against the couch.

"If I may," Buzz cut in, "Captain, we got a lot of photos of you and the lieutenant out in the field, and in almost all the ones we have, you two are definitely in love. "

"Buzz," Andy sighed, "just roll the tape."

The movie continued with photo after photo of Sharon and Andy at work. The music changed from what Sharon would have called "Elevator Music" to a new tune.

"Yes! It's the Darth Rader music!" Ricky exclaimed.

Sharon stole a harsh glance at Ricky, and then shook her head. Yes, Ricky was right. The music had changed, and now were scenes from over 10 years ago in the field.

"Those were my FID days!" Sharon exclaimed. "We barely worked together, then."

"Oh, but Sharon, when you did, everyone called you Darth Raydor," Brenda chimed in.

"Oh man, there's that sexy trench coat," Andy smiled as another picture came up. This time, it was a late night crime scene, and the picture looked like Andy and Sharon were arguing about something. Chuckling, he said, "We had a lot of arguments about whose crime scene it was back then."

Sharon just shook her head, "My sexy trench coat-that's what you call it? I can never wear it again."

"Ma'am, we just called it the Darth Rader coat," Julio added.

The team setup these photos in a sort of chronological order, and with that, it was very evident to see the two getting closer and closer, becoming friends, confidants, and then to the point they were inseparable. The photos continue through different work events and even a couple of old charity events. Then, came a few pictures from Christmas long ago.

"Oh, look, there's Mama," Brenda said teary-eyed.

The current picture had the Major Crimes team with Brenda's family at Christmas dinner in the Murder Room. They all had to miss their own Christmas plans to finish the case.

"Ahhh, look Dad, even back then, you managed to sit next to Sharon at dinner. Was she even what you were calling your friend Sharon yet?" Nicole teased.

"Louie, look, you softie, you sat with them too," Patrice added.

"Don't remind me. The beginning of the end," Provenza shook his head.

More and more pictures followed. Sharon took Andy's hand in hers and whispered to him, "Okay, maybe we were dating a little before I recognized it."

Andy laughed out loud, causing the group to look at him. "She finally admitted we might have been dating earlier than she thought."

"Umm, Captain, it is pretty incriminating," Amy whispered.

As more pictures were plastered on the screen, familiar faces started to appear more often.

"Hey, that's me! That's when you first took me in, Sharon," Rusty smiled. "Andy, I don't even remember you talking with me that much, but man, you are in a lot of those pictures with me."

"Yeah, the rest of us could see that you were the luckiest kid alive and got a mom AND a dad, everyone except the actual family members," Provenza smiled.

As the pictures continued, Sharon and Andy could tell that their family members had contributed to the photos, as more and more were coming from their personal lives, outside of work.

"Hey, a Dodgers game," Andy commented, as Sharon added with the next one, "Emily's on tour ballet group when they came to LA."

Their group of friends had watched this love story play out in front of them for years, so it wasn't a surprise to them that their captain ended up with her lieutenant. What intrigued everyone is that Sharon and Andy actually seemed surprised by all of their photos and the story they were telling.

"Look, Nic's wedding!" Andy exclaimed. "Nic, you were so beautiful that day."

"Oh, the Nutcracker," Sharon smiled.

"Which year?" Provenza added. "Yes, we remember suffering through the Nutcracker dates for two years!"

Sharon giggled at that. "Well, I don't have a completely clueless look on my face from the 'Dating not Dating' dinner conversation, so that must have been the first year.

"This is what has been going on since I left Major Crimes?" Brenda jumped in. "Sharon, I didn't think you had it in you."

More pictures came up-several chess tournaments with Rusty, beach outings with Nicole's kids, a couple trips to San Francisco where they visited both boys, charity dinners, more baseball games, holiday events. The pictures proved one thing-they were guilty. They were guilty of a very slow romance that had played out over years and years. It was clear the pictures were getting more recent. Everyone noticed that those pictures with Tommy and Matthew looked more recent-a recent ballet recital and even t-ball and baseball for the boys.

"Captain, I really didn't want to put this one in because my face was green, but well, it was a great picture of everyone else," Buzz commented, as a Christmas picture came up.

"Oh, that was the year Ricky and Andy setup Christmas at work," Sharon commented, "and we officially met Patrice," Sharon smiled as she looked over to her friend.

The newer photos seemed to be taken from a phone, as the angles and such were that of someone sneaking pictures. There were pictures of the condo-Andy picking up Sharon, bringing her dinner, flowers, and even just sitting around. The group started laughing as several appeared with Sharon and Andy were intertwined, asleep on the couch.

Sharon glanced around the room until she found Rusty. "Rusty! I can't believe you took pictures of us asleep on the couch! What were you doing?"

"Well, you see, I've never had a normal family life, so what's more normal than seeing your parental figures fall asleep watching a movie. Seriously, that's old people dating?"

Andy chuckled at that and just shrugged his shoulders at Sharon. She sat back to continue watching and her breath drew with the next photos.

"Oh, Andy, our first date, Serve," she said.

"Your FIRST date? What in the world were all the other 100 or so photos we've already shown you?" Provenza said exasperated.

Andy laughed, turned to Provenza and said, "Remember, it took her awhile to catch up to the rest of us."

Sharon smacked his chest again, "Well, it WAS our first official date because it was the first time you actually got nervous asking me to dinner and added that word 'Romantic' to it."

"Ewww, Mom, really," Ricky complained.

"Yeah, not needed stepmom," Charlie chimed in next to Ricky.

"Oh, I can vouch it was the first date," Andrea jumped in. "She walked into the room where I was working, and at first, I thought someone had died. She was speechless, but then when she finally got enough wording to get out what had just happened, I could tell she was head over heels for sure."

Rusty had managed to sneak several date pictures of the two from the first date at Serve. Sharon was really surprised. The next picture had Sharon laugh out loud.

"Oh, the duck lamps! How did those make the slideshow?" Sharon asked.

"Louie, you did that to Sharon's condo?" Patrice asked.

"No, I didn't do anything. That was all Rusty," Provenza added.

"Yeah, lieutenant, and you paid me to do that"" Rusty said.

"Is nothing a secret anymore?" Provenza yelled.

The duck lamps were in the forefront of the picture, as Rusty had captured a picture of Sharon and Andy standing on her balcony, mostly because there was nowhere to sit inside. The two had their backs to Rusty, so they had no idea he'd captured them in a sweet embrace overlooking the city.

"Rusty, that's a beautiful picture, but I want to be so mad you were taking these and then sending them to Lieutenant Provenza," Sharon said dryly.

"Well, that is the job of a journalist," Rusty smirked.

Sharon's breath hitched when she saw more recent pictures from Andy's 'dust up' with the car. There were pictures of him at the condo-Rusty had gotten a few of him sleeping on the couch, curled up with Sharon's blanket and pillows.

"Andy, what were you doing while I was at work?" Sharon laughed at the picture.

"I was missing you! Your pillow and blanket smelled like you, so they helped me sleep," Andy added.

Sharon almost couldn't look at the pictures now on the screen-pictures from Thanksgiving at the hospital.

"Oh Andy, I was so scared for you," she said sweetly.

"Yeah, you and me both. Provenza had my Power of Attorney. What was I thinking? He tried to kill me," Andy sighed.

It was clear even in the pictures that Andy was improving. There were several hospital pictures. The first really looked bad with his black eye and swollen face. As the pictures progressed, you could tell he was getting better. Rusty had snapped several photos of Sharon and Andy walking their laps around the hospital.

"What a comedian. Preying on the old and sick," Andy snickered.

"Oh Dad, I had no idea it was that bad. Sharon always sounded so positive on the phone," Nicole said sadly.

Christmas pictures from last year were flashing. Sharon and Andy decorating the Christmas tree, opening Christmas presents, New Years, pictures with the kids-their family lives were being played out on the screen.

"Oh, Valentine's Day!" Sharon exclaimed! "That was so lovely surprising me with a trip to New York to see Emily," Sharon smiled and intertwined her fingers with Andy.

"Yeah, I'm glad we were able to get away then because as soon as we got back, we were stuck with that horrible case," Andy smiled back.

"Worst case ever, Sir," Julio chimed in.

"Oh, our wedding, Louie!" Patrice exclaimed.

Pictures from Provenza and Patrice's wedding were some of the most recent. Sharon remembered that day very fondly. She and Andy had really enjoyed the wedding and had a "What If" conversation about marriage-really, their first, but not last conversation.

The slideshow seemed like it should be about over, but there were still a few pictures left.

Groaning, Sharon said, "Oh you just had to include the mold house!"

"Well, Captain, it did double as a crime scene photo and a couple-in-love-buying-a-house-together photo," Amy said proudly.

"Amy, I thought you were on my side!" Sharon exclaimed.

"Well, I used to think you were the smartest detective I had ever met. However, after seeing all of this, I must say, with all due respect, you appeared to be clueless," Amy said dryly.

The room fell silent for a moment as everyone waited for a reply. Soon, Sharon started to laugh, which quickly turned into a snort. "Oh Amy, that's why I love you. You can be so blunt, but so right sometimes. I really was clueless about this for years."

The group all started laughing again and turned their attention back to the screen.

"Oh, how did you get pictures from our actual wedding?" Sharon turned to Buzz.

"Captain, my source would like to remain anonymous, but it wasn't your judge friend," Buzz added.

The team and the kids all paid close attention to these photos. Most had not seen them at all. After all of the photos, years and years of the two together, everyone wanted to see the proof of the actual wedding.

"Oh, Sharon, you looked beautiful," Nicole said. "I wish we could have seen it."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. We have photos ordered, so we will show them to you when they come in. It really was a beautiful setting," Sharon smiled at Nicole.

The very last photo was a simple one. It had Sharon sitting on Andy's desk just looking at him, starting to laugh because he'd probably said something sarcastic.

"Captain, we weren't sure how we wanted to end this, but this seemed right. This is what we see, and I don't mean that in a bad way. We see a great boss who cares about all of her people. We see a loving mom, and we see this-a loving wife who is hopelessly in love and devoted to someone. We see all of this after seeing you with so much heartache. We are truly happy for both of you. All joking aside, we hope that you see that too, and that you see that we did make this for you out of love," Buzz smiled.

"That was just wonderful, Buzz, everyone. Thank you. I'm at a loss for what to say," Sharon smiled as she stood up. Andy followed, standing up with her, his arm around her.

"And lieutenant, sir, we have watched you change so much over the years. I know your kids being here today are proof of that. While a long time ago, we all remember the trouble you and the lieutenant used to get into-the airline stewardess for example-"

"Hey, watch it, Buzz," Provenza shook his hand at Buzz.

"-but, while we have made fun of you endlessly for chasing after the Captain, well, lieutenant, we see that you had the right idea all along. Maybe we were the idiots for not seeing it sooner," Buzz smiled at Andy.

"Now, you take that back, Buzz! He's still an idiot-now he's a married one," Provenza added.

At that, the group began laughing, and the television was turned off. Sharon and Andy started to hug their family and friends, thanking them for coming and for everything.

"Captain, there's just one question we couldn't figure out. Why now? Why did you decide last week to get married now?" Buzz inquired.

Sharon looked to Andy and shrugged. Andy smiled back at her.

"Easy, Buzz. She was all about the money. I convinced her she should marry me to get all of my benefits," Andy smirked toward Sharon's poor attempt at a glare. Upon seeing his smirk, she gave him a huge, loving smile.


End file.
